Firered and Leafgreen
by Moonspots
Summary: Join Red and Leaf as they journey through the Kanto region and work to become the pokemon master. But Red knows a deadly secret, Leaf is head over heels in love, and with Team Rocket lurking behind ever corner, this may prove harder than they think. Based off the game. RedXLeaf. BurningLeaf shipping.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:I do not own pokemon**

**Hey, Moonspots here! So I'm really excited about this Fanfiction. It's pretty much about Leaf and Red journeying through the Kanto region. It will be based of the game with a few changes and in an anime setting. The idea of writing their story has been bugging me for a while now, so I decided to write it! I really hope you guys like it!**

**Chapter 1**

A 13 year old girl sat up on her knees, her long brown hair thwapping against her back while she chucked clothes over her shoulders at a very rapid pace. A large pile of clothes had begun to form next to a green, tattered backpack with a pokeball insignia sewn onto it. Various worthless looking items overflowed and spilled out over its sides: a book, a blanket, a small box, a hat, even some silverware. Only after the pile of clothes reached the height of the backpack did the girl stop throwing clothes.

She took a deep breath, her elbows propped on her knees and her hands cupping her chin, an uncontrollable grin spread from ear to ear. Her light brown eyes gleamed with excitement and alertness, even though the moon's glow seeped through her windows and illuminated the sky. She abruptly rose to her feet and snatched a white hat off her dresser. She stuck it on her head, the brim creating a ring around her head. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and her grin turned into a goofy one.

"Watch out world. I am Leaf, from Pallet town! Tomorrow I am going to start my pokemon journey, and eventually become a pokemon master!" Leaf raised her fist in the air and yelled the last part.

"Leaf!" A voice yelled from outside her door.

She cringed and watched as her door was flung open to reveal a very angry looking woman. She had sharp features and narrowed brown eyes. Her black hair was peppered with white and tossed up in a messy bun. Despite the fact she had just slammed open the door, she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and her foot tapping the ground.

"Sorry Mom," Leaf apologized, suddenly realizing just how ridiculous she must look right now.

Her usually sleek brown hair was frizzy from a long day without a single glimpse of a brush. She was wearing her pajamas, which consisted of a white tank top featuring the three kanto starters and a pair of blue comfy shorts. Even though she was in her pajamas, she was wearing tennis shoes from earlier when she had gotten something from the car.

"Do you realize what time it is?" Her mother demanded.

"Um, night time?" She gulped.

"11:30. 11:30 Leaf! Tomorrow is a big day and you need your sleep! Now hurry up and pack your bag and get to bed already," She scolded her child.

She nodded, proceeding to shove clothes in her already full bag. Her mother sighed and walked over to Leaf.

"Honey, you've got way too many things, and this backpack looks like it had seen some pretty rough days," Her voice had dramatically softened.

"It's the only one I got," Leaf explained.

"I bought one for you, just in case," Leaf's mom smiled at her good-naturedly.

"Really?" Leaf's eyes, once again, filled with excitement.

"Yup, I'll go get it right now."

While her mom was retrieving the bag, Leaf began to sort through her stuff, this time with a more realistic mind. She threw the junk into one pile, and the useful items into another pile. The size of the junk almost doubled her other pile. Leaf's mom returned with a light yellow satchel resting in her hands. Leaf scrambled over to her mom and ecstatically, yet carefully, picked up the satchel. She flipped it over in her hands, feeling the soft exterior and admiring it.

"Thanks Mom. This is really nice," Leaf smiled as her mom pulled her in for a hug.

"Now why don't we pack?"

The two spent about a half hour packing Leaf's bag. The number of times Leaf had to throw one of her items into the junk pile was astounding. Leaf glanced at the small digital clock shaped like a voltorb.

"Wow, it's midnight already. I should probably go to bed!" Leaf declared.

"Agreed." Her mother pulled off her hat, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and set the hat back down in its rightful spot. Leaf watched the door click shut before she sat down at the edge of her bed. Her room was a complete pig-sty from just today. Dirty clothes littered the floor and pair-less shoes lay forlornly in the corners. Her walls were covered in posters of pokemon battles and pictures depicting her life.

One, in particular, caught Leaf's attention. The picture was taken in front of a creek on a sunny day. A little girl had her arms around the shoulders of two boys about the same age. The girl had long brown hair and an oversized smile. The boy to her left had light brown, almost blonde hair. A mustache and large glasses had been drawn onto his face with a sharpie. The boy on her right was taller and had a more serious look on his face. His brown hair was slightly unkempt and he looked a little bit caught off guard.

Leaf's heart fluttered as she looked at the picture, memories taking her to the past. She sat there for a while, reminiscing, before walking over and pulling the picture off the wall. Blue and Red. Her two best friends. Well, one of them not so much anymore. Her eyes fixed on Blue, the kid with scribbles on his face. A couple of years ago, Blue had suddenly grown distant and began to bully her and Red. Now they were more enemies than anything else.

Red was a different story though... He has always been there for her, through thick and thin. He knew all the right things to say, though he didn't say much, and how to make Leaf laugh. And somewhere along the way, he had stolen her heart. Leaf couldn't deny it. She had a major crush. And it bothered her more than anything else. Tom-boy Leaf, who loved to get dirty and act immature, was head over heels in love with her only friend.

She stashed the picture in her bag and set the bag against the bed's leg. She flopped onto the bed, pulling the covers over herself. The anticipation for tomorrow was bubbling inside her. She pushed all thoughts of Red out of her mind and instead focused on which pokemon she wanted.

Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur. All three of them were incredibly cute and surprisingly strong. The thoughts swirled around in mind as she reached up and pulled the lamp cord. The light flickered off, leaving her in almost complete darkness. Fire, grass, or water? Which was best? Leaf slowly drifted off, finding her dreams to be haunted by the pesky question of which one.

* * *

It didn't matter how much he wanted to, or how much he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. He had resorted to pacing around his room and occasionally running his hands through his messy brown hair. A dull throb began to form in the back of his head just from all the worrying he'd been doing. Unlike Leaf and Blue, who he was sure were too excited to sleep, he couldn't sleep because of dread. Sure, he was overjoyed that he would be getting his first pokemon tomorrow. Professor Oak had specifically asked the three to travel around and learn about pokemon in exchange for a starter pokemon. Leaf would be so excited tomorrow morning, well until he had to break the bad news,

"Dang it Red! You need to be strong about this," he scolded himself.

He sat down on the edge of his bed and placed his forehead in the palm of his hands. Why him? Red didn't understand how he, of all people, could have been entrusted with such a valuable secret and impossible task. He recalled the night when his life took a downward slide, three nights ago. If only he would have listened to Leaf and not gone out into the forest… That's where he found the dying man and his burden. Red was warned about the dangers that would come with it and the man made him swear never to tell anyone, that he was foolish to even trust Red, but he had too. Not that Red choose to know either. He was a victim of circumstance and now he was going to have to live with the consequences. All he knew is that his life and anyone he held close to him could be in danger.

People would come after him once they figured out what he knew, and they would figure it out. That's why he had to talk to Leaf. That's why he couldn't travel around the region together like they had planned their whole life. He just had no idea how he was going to break it to her.

* * *

Leaf was up before the sun, and she wasn't trying to keep it a secret either. Her feet pounded against the stairs as she went up, down, up, down. A door slammed. Something crashed to the ground. Her mom was trying to be patient with her, but this was too much for her to handle.

"Leaf Green, you better keep it down or else you won't be making any trips to the professor's lab!" Her mother yelled.

Leaf stopped mid-step and flinched as she listened to her mother chew her out. Whoops. Maybe she was making more noise than she thought. Oh well. She finished her descent downstairs, this time much quieter, and slid over to the food cabinets. She stared at the rows of food and wondered which would be fit to start the most important day of her life. Oatmeal? Definitely not. Cheerios? She had those pretty much every day. Leaf swung open the fridge door, letting a breath of cold air slap her in the face. How about eggs? She checked the fridge for eggs, but they were out. She rummaged through until finally, she found something worthy. Bacon.

The hissing and popping were like music to her ears as the bacon cooked. She glanced at her watch. 6:15. She would meet Red at his house and they would walk to the lab at 6:30. They were supposed to receive their pokemon at 7:00, but being there early couldn't hurt. Leaf turned off the stove and picked the bacon from the frying pan. After devouring her breakfast, she brushed her teeth and walked into her room. She looked around, trying to take everything in at once. She might have been sad, but excitement was overpowering every other emotional at the moment.

She spotted herself in the mirror and stood up a bit straighter. Her frizzy hair from yesterday had met a brush and now it lay straight on her back. Two smaller pieces of her chocolate brown hair that were barely shoulder length framed the side of her face. Her white hat from last night cast a shadow over her eyes and she smiled at the way it made her appear mysterious. She wore a simple blue tank top with a black collar and a red pleated mini skirt. Her yellow bag hung off her shoulder and it complemented her outfit. Two blue socks were pulled up to the top of her shins and her feet were stuffed inside red and white tennis shoes.

"Mom?" Leaf stuck her head into the bear's den, a potentially deadly move on any other morning at this time of day.

Her mom's eyes were half open as she rolled over to face Leaf.

"Yeah?" She yawned, stretching her arms.

"I wanted to say goodbye." Leaf walked over as her mom sat up in the bed

They hugged and Leaf pulled away.

"I know you'll be great. Don't forget to stop by and visit. Call me too."

"I will, I promise." Leaf walked out the door, her satchel on her shoulder.

Down the stairs, out the door, and Leaf was finally outside. She breathed in the fresh air and couldn't help but do a little twirl. The sun was waking up, the sky was blue, and the pidgey were chirping. She smiled to herself. _Maybe I'll catch a pidgey today_, she thought. Leaf couldn't help but run over to Red's house. She knocked very loudly on the door and waited. A brown haired, wide-eyed boy opened the door and took one look at Leaf. He had on a red short sleeve zip-up jacket with black sleeves. Red tennis shoes hid under his boot cut blue jeans. To top his outfit off, he wore a red baseball cap with white marking a half circle just above the rim.

"Are you ready?" She asked, bouncing on her heels.

Red looked Leaf over, his eyes resting on her new yellow bag. After holding up one finger, he disappeared and reappeared within 30 seconds with a yellow backpack slung around his shoulders. He shut the door quietly behind him and walked alongside Leaf as she began to ramble about something. She was always talking. His mind wandered to three nights ago when his life changed dramatically. If only he hadn't snuck out, if only he had listened to his friend.

"Earth to Red!" Leaf was waving her hand in front of his face now.

He glanced over at her.

"Where you even listening to me?" She asked unhappily.

"Uh..."

"Okay whatever. As I was saying, did you hear about that guy they found in the woods?" Her voice pulsated with excitement.

Every muscle in Red's body tensed. He had heard alright. It was the whole reason he couldn't travel around with her. He relaxed his muscles and nodded

"They Id'd the body, and it was Mr. A. He was the new guy in town, that was like a biologist or something. So, apparently, he had already been dead for 2 days when they found him. That means he died three nights ago. Red, we were going to go out in the forest that night, remember?" She became more serious.

"It rained."

If only he hadn't gone out that night , but he couldn't tell Leaf that he had. Because it would put her at risk too. It had, in fact, rained that night, and he remembered it very clearly. He pushed aside the memory stirring in his head and focused instead on the fact they were going to be getting their very own pokemon soon.

"So I was watching the news, and it said the police suspected foul play. The marks on his body were from a tyranitar," she exaggerated the last word.

He shot her a look that said 'so what?'

"They are rare pokemon found in the Johto region! It's highly unlikely one could ever make its way down in this area," she clarified, looking smug she remembered something from trainers school.

"Wow!" Red applauded her, pretending to be impressed by her knowledge.

"Hey!" Leaf playfully punched his shoulder.

"Leaf, there is something I wanted to tell you," Red began but was cut off.

Standing in front of the lab doors was a spiky haired boy. He wore a confident smirk as he leaned casually against the side of the door frame. Leaf groaned as she spotted her least favorite person. He wore a blue shirt and blue jeans with a pendant hanging from a worn string around his neck.

"Look who finally showed up, Red and his puppy dog," He sneered at Leaf.

"Good one Blue. I feel very insulted," Leaf rolled her eyes at him.

"What took you so long, I thought I'd have to take the pokemon myself."

"We are like 20 minutes early," Red pointed out.

"Not early enough by the looks of it. You two hurry up," with that he turned and walked into the lab, the door slamming behind him.

Red grabbed Leaf's shoulder before she could follow him. It was now or never. He took a deep breath and met Leaf's curious stare.

"Leaf, I can't journey with you." His heart hammered in his chest.

"What?" Her eyes filled with hurt and confusion.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"I just can't..."He looked down, suddenly feeling very ashamed.

"We've been planning this since we were little. This has been my dream since forever, traveling around the kanto region with my best friend." Leaf look crushed.

Just as Red was about to say something else, the door swung open and revealed Blue.

"Hurry up will ya," he growled and turned back inside.

"We better go in," Red mumbled.

Leaf didn't say anything back. She cut him off as he was about to take a step inside and hurried over to stand next to Blue. Red watched her, an ache forming in his chest. He felt like a real jerk at the moment, but that feeling was soon replaced with an uncontainable excitement. Sitting on a table near Leaf were three pokeballs. Standing near the table was Professor Oak, Blue's grandpa. Oak had tan colored hair that was spiked at one side and a heavy set of eyebrows. He wore a good-natured smile as he watched Red enter the room. Like most professors, he had on a white lab coat over a pair of khakis and a red t-shirt.

"I'm glad to see you all here today. As you already know, my name is Professor Oak. I've spent my life researching pokemon and in return for a rare pokemon, you will take a pokedex and collect data on pokemon." He held up a red device as he talked.

"On the table are the three starter pokemon, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. Each of you will get to choose one to help start off your pokemon journey. Leaf, you can choose first." Oak smiled at her.

Leaf was surprised that she was getting to choose first. She had assumed since Blue was Oak's grandson, he would get the first pick. Blue must have thought so too because the moment the words left the professor's mouth, Blue obliged. Professor Oak shushed him and gave Leaf an encouraging smile. Excitement bubbled inside of her and it was taking all of her self-control not to jump up and down. She walked slowly over to the table, running the options through her mind. Deep down though, she knew which pokemon she wanted, even though she had thought about each pokemon for the longest time. Leaf reached down and picked up the pokeball farthest to the right.

"Charmander. A wise choice. It has a spirited personality and is well suited for a patient and strong trainer," Oak commentated.

Leaf nodded, but she wasn't really listening. She was instead staring at her pokeball in awe. She flipped it over in her hands imagining her Charmander inside. Maybe he was sleeping, or he could be listening to them right now.

"Would you like to give your pokemon a nickname?" Professor Oak asked Leaf.

She glanced up, "Uh, a nickname? No thank you."

"Would you like to go next?" He asked, looking at Red.

Blue's mouth fell open as he watched Red walk over to the table and look over the remaining pokeballs. Leaf couldn't help but smirk. She was starting to really like Professor Oak. After a moment's thought, Red grabbed the one closest to her. A bulbasaur. After a brief speech from Oak about Bulbasaur, he asked Red about a nickname. He politely turned him down.

"Now you can go Blue," Oak turned to his grandson.

Blue snatched the remaining pokeball off the counter fuming. Oak couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"I was going to pick Squirtle anyways. He's the best," Blue grumbled, but he couldn't stay mad for long.

"Now. Here is a pokedex for each of you. You use a pokedex to obtain information about pokemon. Simply point it at a pokemon and it will tell you information. In order to collect more information, you need to catch the pokemon. Also five pokeballs to start off your journey. You can purchase more pokeballs at your local pokemart. The pokemon center is always open for you to heal your pokemon and spend the night. The closest town is Viridian City which is north of here. I wish you all the best of luck. Call anytime you want and feel free to stop by." Oak handed them the supplies and watched as they walked out the door.

Almost in unison, they released their pokemon from their pokeballs. A charmander, squirtle, and bulbasaur stared at the trainer in front of them. Leaf kneeled down next to her pokemon holding out her hand. Charmander was bright orange and looked like a lizard standing on his hind legs. He had bright blue eyes and a tan underbelly. A flame flickered strongly on the tip of his tail. Charmander let his new trainer pet him, feeling a bond already forming between them. Leaf pointed her pokedex at him and quickly gathered information before she pointed it at the other two pokemon.

Red smiled at his new pokemon. Bulbasaur stood on all four legs and slightly resembled a dinosaur. He had light greenish-blue skin with small darker green markings over his face and body. Two ears twitched on the top of it's face. A dark green bulb sat on it's back, making up much of the pokemon.

Blue picked up his squirtle, examining it as he smiled. Squirtle looked like a normal turtle, only blue and much cuter. It's shell looked powerful and sturdy on it's back. It declared its name a couple of times as Blue held it.

"Red?" Leaf turned to her friend, having not forgot their conversation from earlier.

"Hmmm?" He asked, not really paying much attention to her.

"How about we make a deal."

Now he looked up at her interested.

"If I beat you in a pokemon battle, you have to journey with me. If I lose, you don't have to," She declared.

She knew Red too well, and she knew he could never back down from a challenge. He cursed under his breath. She was making it so hard to protect her. But he couldn't back down, he just couldn't. And besides, he'd been wanting to have a real battle for as long as he could remember.

"Deal," He sighed.

Blue laughed and looked over at Leaf.

"You actually think you can beat him? Don't you think there's a reason he doesn't want to journey with you? You're dead weight. You're holding him back and I would drop you too," He sneered.

Leaf ignored him, but the words hurt. She had been thinking the same thing, and now it seemed like her fears might be a reality. Did Red think that she wasn't good enough for him? Her grip on the empty pokeball tightened. She would show them. She wasn't weak. Charmander watched his trainer, recognizing the emotions on her face and a determination came over him.

"Let's go Charmander!"

"Char!"

Red and Leaf stood opposite from each other, both pokemon facing each other. Charmander's tail seemed to burn even brighter as it prepared for its first battle. Blue sat back and watched, a smug look on his face.

"You can have the first move," Leaf said.

"Bulbasaur, use tackle!" Red wasted no time.

Before Charmander could react, Bulbasaur slammed into him, causing him to tumble backward. Charmander recovered quickly though, and just looked even more prepared to fight.

"Charmander, counter with a scratch!" Leaf called.

Charmander's claws connected with Bulbasaur multiple times before he was able to get away. Bulbasaur seemed to have taken more damage than Charmander. Leaf smiled. It looked like she was winning this fight.

"Tackle one more time!" Red instructed.

"Use growl!" Leaf yelled.

Charmander used growl as Bulbasaur threw himself into Charmander. Tackle's effect was greatly lessened, but Leaf could still see that Charmander was wearing down. It was now or never. With Charmander still pinned beneath Bulbasaur, Leaf called out for her pokemon to use scratch one more time. Charmander's paw slammed into the side of Bulbasaur's head, causing him to falter. It was enough for Charmander to push Bulbasaur off of him and land one more blow. Bulbasaur wavered for a moment, and then fell to the ground.

Leaf couldn't believe she won! She jumped up in the air and then ran over to her pokemon to give him a big hug. She won her very first pokemon battle!

"Great job!" She congratulated her pokemon.

Leaf looked over at Red and to her surprise, he was smiling.

"Looks like you're stuck with me!" She beamed.

He just shook his head, unable to think of anything to say at the moment. He picked up his fainted pokemon and returned it to his pokeball. He told Leaf he was going to have Professor Oak heal it and be right back. While she waited, Blue approached her.

"Looks like Red isn't as good as I thought he was. He got beat by you," Blue shook his head.

"I'll take you on too if you think you're so good," She growled at him.

"I would but… it's just an enormous waste of time. We both know who the winner would be and I have better things to be doing. I'll battle you another time. Then we'll see who's the real trainer around here. Smell ya later." He turned and walked away.

_What a jerk and such a weird way to say goodbye_, Leaf thought. She sat down next to her Charmander and scratched his head while Red healed his pokemon. She wasn't a drag. She had proven that much when she beat Red. She just hoped he thought the same. The door swung open and Leaf popped up.

"Ready?" She asked, returning Charmander to her pokeball.

Red gave her a sideways smirk as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets and walked towards Route 1.

**So there it is! I really hope you like it. There will be a lot of character development from Red, Leaf, and Blue, so if you don't like them at the moment, just bare with me. I've edited this a couple of times, but if I missed anything I would love to know. I also really appreciate any constructive criticism you have to offer me. As of right now, I'm accepting OC's. If you want to make one, please Pm me with the following. Name,age,appearance, personality, clothes, history, pokemon, move list for pokemon, if they are a trainer, breeder, ect. And how you would like them to appear in the story. Thanks everyone and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who read my story. A special thanks to Red Alfa, and Reborn Dark Phoniex for their reviews. Without further ado, here is chapter 2!**

**Chapter 2**

Only 10 minutes into their pokemon journey and Leaf had spotted a pokemon. Red seemed to be more concerned with where they were going than what pokemon were lurking in the trees, but it was his loss. For some reason, Leaf decided to crouch down and tip-toe over to the pokemon. Seeing Leaf's weird movements, Red stopped, sighed, and followed her, not bothering to lower himself. It wouldn't make a difference anyways, it's not like the pokemon could run away.

"Red! Get down!" Leaf yell/whispered at him.

Red cocked an eyebrow at her, shaking his head like she was an idiot. She glared at him as she pulled her pokedex out of her back pocket and pointed it at the pokemon. It gave her a description of it in a robotic voice. She reached for an empty pokeball. She enlarged it, looking very determined. Red was just about to protest when she hurled the pokeball towards the unsuspecting caterpie. it shook once, twice, three times before a burst of red energy released the now angry pokemon.

Without hesitation, it stringshoted Leaf right in the face. She spat and pulled the extremely sticky strings away from her face as the caterpie made its grand escape into the dark forest. After containing an outburst of laughter, Red helped Leaf remove the sticky strings. Her checks flushed red as his hand occasionally touched her face. She was relieved that the strings covered the blush from Red's eyes. When they finally got it all off, Red pulled her pokedex from her grip. He pressed a button and the pokedex began to talk.

"When catching a pokemon, trainers typically weaken the wild pokemon with their own pokemon before catching it. This makes the probability of catching the pokemon much higher."

This time the flush on her checks was open for Red to see as he handed her back the pokedex.

"Whatever, let's just keep on going," she snatched the device from his hand and hurriedly put it away.

Red watched her walk past him before jogging to her side. This time, he kept his eye out for pokemon as well. Leaf's spirit had become a bit deflated since her last failure, but she was still bent on catching a pokemon today. Bulbasaur and Charmander had been released from their pokeballs to walk along side their trainers and talk. Red chatted with Leaf, well Leaf did most of the talking, about old memories and where they wanted to go after Viridian. A rustle in some bushes diverted Red's attention and he glanced towards the noise.

He held his finger to his lips in a signal to be quiet. His bulbasaur crept over next to him and he nodded at Bulbasaur. At the nod, Bulbasaur jumped into the bushes and was met by a surprised squawk. The bushes rattled as small flashes of blue-green and tan were visible through the leaves. Suddenly the two pokemon crashed out of the bushes and into the open area. The wild pokemon was now recognizable as a pidgey. The pidgey looked furious that someone would attack it, but it also was considerably weaker than Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, use tackle one more time," Red called out.

His pokemon collided with the wild one, sending the pidgey tumbling backwards. Before it could recover, a pokeball was sailing through the air at it. The pokeball bounced off the pidgey as it was enveloped in a bright red light and sucked inside the ball. It wiggled three times before it confirmed the capture with a click. Leaf watched in awe as Red went to collect his prize.

"And that, my friend, is how to catch a pokemon." He turned the ball over in his hands.

"That was amazing Red! I must have your autograph!" Leaf fake squealed as she pretended to look for paper in her bag.

Red released his newly caught pokemon to admire it. It chirped and looked at him with big eyes. Leaf sighed, remembering earlier when she had fantasized about catching a pidgey herself. Even though it was only a couple of hours ago, it had seemed like forever since this morning. She felt stupid, but she was already starting to miss her mom.

"Red?" Leaf asked once they were back on the road.

"Yeah?" He glanced over at her.

"Are you nervous?" Her voice seemed small.

"Kinda, more excited though," he shrugged.

Red suddenly regretted early when he had acted like she was an idiot for not knowing how to catch. It was her first day, and he didn't have to be a jerk about it. She was his only friend. He hated that some stupid secret was keeping them apart. The man had warned him not to tell anyone, but he figured he could trust Leaf. One day he would have tell her. He fumbled for the right words to apologize with when Leaf interrupted his thoughts.

"It's fine. I forgive you for earlier, no hard feelings," she half-smiled at him.

Red opened his mouth to reply when he was cut off.

"HEY," somebody yelled really loudly at them.

Red and Leaf looked towards the sounds of the voice and saw a young kid, about their age, running toward them. They exchanged a confused glance and looked back at him. He walked right up to Leaf and jabbed his finger at her chest. His blue eyes were narrowed below his mop of brown hair.

"Hey, girl! I challenge you to a two-on-two battle!" He was almost shouting even though they were standing right next to each other.

Leaf faltered for words, "I, uh, I only have one pokemon."

"What? What a loser! You only have one pokemon? You must be the weakest trainer ever!" He was laughing at her, and she could see the spit flying out of his mouth.

"Back off," Red growled, his shoulders tensing.

"It's the first day of my journey," Leaf said defensively.

"Fine. I'll give you til sunset to battle me. If you don't then you're a chicken and a loser. I'll be waiting at the Viridian City Pokemon Center." And with that he was off running towards the city.

Leaf just stood there, so surprised she didn't know if she should be hurt of angry. All she knew is that she must kick this trainer's ass, and to do that she had to get another pokemon.

"I gotta catch another Pokemon!" Leaf turned towards Red and told him.

He glanced at the sun sitting low in the sky and the long shadows cast by the trees. Red looked uncertainly at Leaf.

"Please? I really want to show this guy he can't be a skunk bag and get away with it," Leaf explained, looking longingly towards the towering tree.

"One hour, no more," Red sighed.

Leaf wasted no time and took off running into the forest. After a couple minutes, she slowed her pace and began to search. The trees casted shadows that provided cover for pokemon, making it more difficult to find one. Many times Leaf would spot one, but it would get away before she had a chance to catch it. A half hour passed before Leaf had any more luck.

"Look!" Leaf pointed towards a forlorn looking tree.

At the base was a small purple rat. It's tail flickered as it sniffed the ground intently, totally oblivious to Leaf's presence. She took a moment to compose herself. This was not going to be like last time. No way would she embarrass herself like that in front of Red again.

"Go Charmander, use scratch!" She hurled her pokeball and out popped her fire lizard.

Before the rattata had time to react, Charmander's claws delivered a swift and strong blow. The wild pokemon winced and pulled away, but it looked angry and ready to fight. It charged at Charmander with amazing speed and slammed into his gut. Charmander rolled backwards, before he returned to his fighting stance.

"Use growl, and than scratch," Leaf called out.

A ferocious roar left Charmander's mouth just as rattata came around to use quick attack again. Even though the attach hit Charmander, it was obvious that it's damage was greatly lessened. While the rattata barreled into him, Charmander took the opportunity to use scratch one more time. The rattata fell to the ground, and struggled to get back up. Leaf grabbed a pokeball and, wasting no time, threw it at the injured pokemon. The ball hit its mark. A red light engulfed Rattata, pulling it into the pokeball, as it began to shake. One, two, three. Click.

"I did it!" Leaf yelled, scaring away any near by pokemon.

She did a small dance, and ran over to retrieve her prize. Charmander smiled as she picked him up in her arms and twirled him around. Red watched them, smiling to himself.

"Now let's go beat that loser of a reject." Her determination was back.

They made it to Viridian City just before the sun began to set. Leaf and Red marveled at the abundance of buildings all around them. They had visited Viridian City a couple of times, but it had never seemed as big as it did now. Red grabbed the nearest map and searched for the nearest pokemon center. Leaf, looking over his shoulder, found it and pointed it out.

"There it is, we should take a right up here and then it'll be a straightaway," Leaf decided.

Red folded the map up and placed it back in his bag. Since the sun had begun to set, the lights from all the lamp posts came on, giving it an eerie feelings. A stray rattata scampered from one alley way to another, while the moans of a koffing could be heard down a dark street. Leaf shivered, finding this city surprisingly creepy at night.

"I'm sure it's much nicer during the day," she commented, mostly trying to convince herself.

Leaf practically jumped out of her skin when a loud crash echoed around them. Without thinking, she grabbed Red's waist, more squeezing him than hugging him. Her eyes frantically searched for the source of the noise while her every hair stood on end. Red looked down at Leaf, not too surprised at her actions. He had been her best friend for forever and they'd ventured out into a dark forest more than once. He gently pried her fingers away from him and gestured towards the rattata scurrying away from trash can.

She glanced up at him, her checks flushing red.

"Right, right," she said, letting go of him, but continued to look around them.

Determination suddenly came over Leaf as she remembered the jerk trainer and she began walking with such confidence that you would have never guessed moments ago she was a nervous wreck. Red followed her, noticing just how fast her emotions could change. He would never understand girls. It would probably be best just to stick to pokemon. The familiar glow of lights came into focus as they spotted a large red and white building. The words pokemon center where light up above two sliding doors.

When Leaf caught sight of the center, she practically began to run. She arrived at the door in less than a minute. She was about to walk in, but she hesitated. She took a moment to compose herself, patting down her hair, and steeling her face. The glass doors slide open as she entered, her walking bordering on a swagger and runway walk. Red didn't pay much attention to her though, instead he marveled at the inside of the pokemon center.

Ahead was a large desk with a smiling woman in a nurse's outfit and pink hair looped on both sides standing behind it. A large machine sat to her right, which Red assumed was used to heal injured pokeballs. A large, pink pokemon stood at the woman's side, offering a equally friendly smile. Many pokemon trainers lounged by tables or sat on plush chairs. Red could see Leaf looking around for her competitor.

"Welcome to the pokemon center of Viridian City. I'm Nurse Joy, and this is my assistant Chansey. How can I help you?" The pink haired woman said as Red approached the desk.

Red grabbed Leaf's elbow and pulled her towards the desk while simultaneously placing both his pokeballs on the desk.

"Sure, let me take your pokemon for you." She handed them each a tray where they placed their pokeballs.

She picked up the trays and carried them over to the large machine. After placing the pokeballs in it, she pressed a button. It began to hum and glow. While it was humming, Nurse Joy pulled a key out for below her desk.

"Would you two like a room to stay in tonight?" She asked while the key dangled in her hand.

Red nodded yes as she handed him the key.

"Can I have your name please?" She asked kindly.

"Red and Leaf," Leaf answered.

"Thank you. Please return this key tommorow morning. I would appreciate it if you kept your room in good condition. Feel free to use the phones and training area tonight and tommorow. We have a food bar too if you are hungry. Thank you for coming and have a good night." She smiled as she placed the key in his hands.

A ding echoed from the machine and a chansey began to remove the pokeballs from the machine. She placed them back on their trays and carried them over to Red and Leaf. She proclaimed her name happily as the trainers retrieved their pokemon.

"Thank you," Leaf said cheerfully.

As they walked away, a youngster approached them, a cocky grin on his face. Behind him was a small group of friends who all had smug looks on their faces. Leaf immediately recognized him as the kid who challenged her to a battle.

"Looks like you showed up after all, or are you here to tell me you chickened out?" He taunted her.

"Oh, it is so on." She flashed him an equally cocky grin.

"Good, meet me at the training area in 5 minutes."

Leaf stood across from the boy, a pokeball in her hand. Red stood behind her silently willing her to kick this kid's ass. Behind the boy were his friends from earlier, and they were calling out his name, Joey. Leaf's grip on her pokeball tightened as he grabbed one of his own pokeballs.

"Go Charmander!"

"Let's go Rattata!"

Leaf's Charmander stood menacingly over the rattata, who didn't look nearly as confident as his trainer.

"You can have the first move," he called.

"Use scratch!" She commanded, not wasting a second.

Charmander's claws slashed the rattata and sent it tumbling backwards. Leaf could tell the one move had done a good deal of damage. Pride swelled inside her as she looked at her pokemon.

"Rattata, counter with a quick attack," Joey hollered.

With lightning speed, Rattata slammed into Charmander, making Charmander fall backwards this time. He quickly recovered though, and used growl at Leaf's command. Rattata flinched, giving Charmander the oppurtonity to land yet another scratch attack.

"Tackle!"

Rattata's attack hit, leaving Charmander breathing heavily. Her heart pounded in her chest. She wondered how much more her pokemon could take.

"Come on Charmander! Don't give up!" She encouraged her pokemon.

"Char!" He yelled defiantly at the air.

He turned back to his opponent, only this time his stomach began to glow red. Leaf watched as a series of embers shot from his mouth and enveloped the opposing pokemon. Unable to withstand the attack, the rattata fell to the ground unconscious.

"Way to go Charmander!" Leaf called to her pokemon excitedly.

"Char! Charmander!" He yelled.

Joey took a deep breath as he enlarged his last pokeball.

"Come on Rattata! Don't let me down!" He hurled his pokeball, a second Rattata emerging from it.

Two Rattatas? Those were his pokemon?

"Finish this one with an ember!"

The attack managed to make contact with the foe's Rattata as it leaped to the side. It countered with a tackle that Charmander dodged.

"Scratch!"

Charmander ran towards the foe's pokemon, but the rattata slammed into Charmander's exposed stomach before Charmander could get in the hit. Charmander hit the ground hard, and this time did not get up.

"Good job, Buddy. You did great," she recalled her pokemon and reached for her pokeball.

She had never battled with Rattata before and honestly didn't even know his moves, but the opposing pokemon was already hurt. Leaf hoped it would be enough to win.

"Let's show him what a real Rattata looks like!" She yelled as her own Rattata appeared.

It bared its fangs and crouched low to the ground, ready to attack. Leaf quickly used her pokedex to check her new pokemon's moves. She put it back and thought up a strategy.

"Use growl, and then tackle!"

Her pokemon did as was instructed, but couldn't make contact with its tackle. It whirled around just in time to see Joey's rattata coming in fast with a quick attack. Leaf's Rattatat wasn't able to get away in time and took a good amount of damage.

"One more time, you can do it!" She called.

Rattata ran towards the opposing pokemon, this time making contact. Along with Charmander's attacks, it wasn't able to take the tackle and fell to the ground. Leaf let out a triumphant cheer as she returned her pokemon. Joey looked defeated as he stared at his Rattata. Even though Leaf really didn't want to, she knew it was the right thing to go shake his hand.

"Good match." She smiled at him as she extended her hand.

After a moment he took it, "Thanks, that's a fine Charmander you have."

"Thanks."

The two shook hands and went back to their friends. Red smiled at Leaf as he held his hand up high. She meet it with her own, unable to keep a smile off her own face.

He gave her an approving nod, and although he didn't say anything, she got his meaning.

"Thanks." She tried not to blush, but she could feel her checks turning red.

While Leaf's pokemon where being healed, they both took the opportunity to call their parents. Leaf's mom answered on the 3rd ring. Her hair was in curlers, and she wore a bathrobe, but her eyes seemed alert and awake when she spotted Leaf.

"Leaf! I'm so happy for you! You already made it to Viridian? That's impressive. How has it been going?" Her mom asked excitedly.

Leaf began to recount the day, while Red told his mom about catching his first pokemon. Both were so wrapped up in their stories they didn't realize it was going on 11:00.

"Sweetie, I hate to say this, but you better be heading to bed," she said frowning.

"Wow, it's already that late. Do you want to see my Charmander real quick?" She asked, enthusiasm returning to her voice.

Without waiting for a response, she ran over to Nurse Joy's desk. She said thank you and quickly attached her pokeballs to her belt. She ran back over to the computer and saw that Red had his bulbasaur out of his pokeball. She quickly released her Charmander.

"Mom, met Charmander. Charmander, this is my mom." Leaf pulled Charmander onto her lap as she sat back in front of the screen.

"Char," he said, waving at her.

"Why, aren't you just the cutest thing," she cooed.

Leaf smiled and quickly said her goodbyes and I love yous. The screen clicked off and Leaf felt herself missing her old room a little. She glanced at Red, who was ending his own call.

"Shall we?" He gestured towards the stairs.

He unlocked the door up the stairs in room 16 to reveal bunk beds and a small desk. A bathroom was included with a shower, toilet, and sink. Leaf was surprised at how small it was, but it wasn't a hotel. Exhaustedl she climbed up the ladder to the top bed. She lay sprawled oout there, before dropping her bag to the floor and undoing her belt. She released Charmander, deciding she wanted him to sleep with her. He smiled and curled up into a ball at the foot of her bed. She watched Red throw off his bag and pull of his vest. Her heart fluttered as he glanced up and smiled at her.

"What a day, huh," he sat down on the bed.

"It exceeded all my expectations. It was perfect," she replied.

"Good night Leaf."

"Good night Red."

**Hopefully these chapters are a good length for everyone. If you would prefer any certain length for chapter, please leave a review. As always, I love constructive criticism, so if you have any say so. I'm still accepting OC's. The requirements are at the end of the first chapter. I'm trying a poll, so please review your answer!**

**Poll: Who is your favorite original Dex holder? Red, Leaf, or Blue?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Moonspots here. So I apologize for posting this chapter late. My family doesn't have a computer at the moment so I have to use my IPad to type everything. Sucks, right? Anyways, the winner of the poll is...Red! There was only one vote, lol, but oh well. So shoutout to Red Alfa for being the poll winner.**

**Chapter 3**

Red jolted awake, sitting up so fast he almost slammed his forehead into the bottom of Leaf's bunk bed. His breath was heavy as his heart hammered against the inside of his chest. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, unable to get the image out of his mind. For four nights, he had been having horrible nightmares, each worse than the previous one. This one was exceedingly bad. While he tried to calm his heart and slow his breath, Red was reminded once again of the reason he didn't want to travel with Leaf in the first place.

Red glanced up at the bottom of her bed and felt a sudden urge to check on her. He was sure she was sound asleep, but checking wouldn't hurt anyone. He silently climbed out of bed and peeked up at her. His stomach twisted painfully and fear flooded his body as he stared at the empty sheets. She was gone.

He backed away, his heart pounding so hard he was becoming light-headed. Where was she? Had Team Rocket already found him? It was as though a dam had broke and all of his fears came flooding back to him as he snatched his pokeball belt from the desk. He unsuccessfully tried to reassure himself that he was simply overreacting. Red walked over to the bathroom and knocked. When nobody answered, he opened it to reveal it was empty. He clicked on the lights and began to frantically search for the room key.

After five minutes of searching, he concluded Leaf had to have taken it. He ran through the door, not caring how much noise he made as his feet thundered down the steps. He skipped the last two steps and slowed his pace as he approached the front desk. Nurse Joy didn't look happy.

"It is two in the morning, please keep it down," she frowned, dark circles under her eyes.

Red blushed a little, and couldn't help but wonder when she took breaks.

"Sorry, have you seen a girl my age, brown hair, brown eyes?" he asked.

"Yes, she went into the training area not too long ago," she indicated the way to the trainer's area, but Red was already running towards it.

Sure enough, as he approached the door he could hear her yelling. The sound of feet pounded against the floor inside. He swung open the door and looked inside. Leaf stood, a stop watch in her hand and a clip board in the other as she yelled encouraging at her Charmander. Set up in front of her was a obstacle course, complete with hurdles, tires, a miniature climbing wall and more. Her Charmander was in the process of hurdling when Red barged in.

"Dammit Leaf," he scowled, looking at her through narrowed eyes.

Leaf looked over at Red, surprised, but the smile forming on her lips was replaced with a grimace.

"Hey Red," she half smiled, knowing she was treading on thin ice.

"What are you doing at two in the morning in here? You scared me to death!" His anger was mixed with genuine worry for her.

"Sorry, I didn't think you would mind or notice. I just wanted to train a little," Leaf murmured, feeling a little guilty.

"Did you think to leave a note? I had no idea where you were!" His voice rose again.

This time Leaf was stating to get annoyed, "It's not like your my babysitter. I don't have tell you where I am every second of the day."

"I know... Just please don't do that again."

Leaf sighed as her Charmander finished the obstacle course and she clicked the stop watch. She was really unsettled by Red's sudden outburst. She didn't think she'd ever heard him yell so much at one time. He must be really upset.

"Great time Charmander! Do you want to join us?" Leaf looked over at Red while patting her pokemon's head.

Red shrugged, his pulse calming to almost normal. He still couldn't shake the feeling of fright he had earlier. He didn't know just how scary it would be to lose Leaf, until he thought he actually had. Maybe he should be trying to protect her instead of keeping her away. He enlarged his pokeballs and released his pidgey and bulbasaur.

"Bulba!"

"Coo!"

He looked over the obstacle course questioningly, his cool demeanor returning.

"I was timing Rattata and Charmander with this obstacle course in hopes of raising their speed and stamina too. You want Bulbasaur to give it a go? I doubt Pidgey could really do it, but I was thinking we could work on aim after this," Leaf explained.

Red nodded to his bulbasaur, and it walked over behind the starting line, watching Rattata bolt through the course. After it had finished, Leaf gave Bulbasaur a head nod to go. Bulbasaur took off, jumping over a hurdle and balancing across a beam. Red watched his pokemon run through the course, making note of its weakness so they could work on them later. Bulbasaur finished much slower than Leaf's pokemon, but it looked satisfied with itself.

Leaf gave it a good belly rub before walking over to a pile of disks. After instructing her Charmander to aim for it, she threw one in the air. He fired up an ember, but the move missed badly. The training continued on for about another hour, but Red's mind was wandering. He couldn't get the image of Leaf's broken body from his nightmares out of his mind. It haunted him as he watched her throw a frisbee for Bulbasaur to knock down with a razor leaf, and it haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

"Let's head to bed," Leaf suggested after a long, drawn out yawn.

Red nodded in agreement and returned his pokemon. Leaf did the same and led the way to their room. Leaf fished the key out of her pocket and practically fell asleep when her head hit the pillow. Red turned off the light and laid down. Though his every thought rebelled against it, his body was begging him for rest. The fear was too great, but he had to sleep if he wanted to be functional tommorow. He couldn't fear something as simple as sleep, so he closed his eyes.

* * *

Leaf woke up groggily, her head spinning as she threw the covers off herself. She slowly climbed down the ladder, almost missing the last step. She pulled a stray piece of hair out of her mouth, and turned towards to desk. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped when she saw the alarm clock. 9:06. A small scream escaped her mouth, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, surprised she had screamed at all.

Red shot up so quick that this time his head smacked into the board of wood. He moaned as he rubbed the bump forming on his forehead. He shot a glare at Leaf, who was blushing furiously.

"I-the-it's past nine," she said sounding thoroughly embarrassed.

"So?" He looked more irritated as he swung his legs over the bed.

"I always wake up before eight. I've just wasted so much time, and I need to be training and stuff," she explained quietly.

Red moaned and shoved his face back into his pillow.

Leaf ignored him as she rushed into the bathroom and hastily began to brush her teeth while simultaneously brushing her hair. Red watched her slightly amazed at the speed she was getting ready and slightly annoyed that she wouldn't just let him sleep. Leaf spit and rinsed her tooth brush before returning both brushes to her bag. She grabbed it by the strap and pulled it into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Red sighed, a headache beginning to form already. He massaged the bump, cursing Leaf for screaming and cursing the low bunk beds. He ran a hand through his hair and decided that was good enough. He reached for his hat and set it on his head after he had changed into his usual apparel. Leaf emerged, wide-awake and ready to go.

"Ready?" She asked, grabbing her own hat off the desk.

Red just walked into the bathroom while Leaf waited. She couldn't take her eyes of the clock as another minute ticked by. After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a minute, Red came out of the bathroom, looking very refreshed.

"Let's go!" She hurried him down the stairs and into the dinning area.

They grabbed a quick bite to eat and returned their room key before heading out the door. Leaf smiled as she felt the warmth of the sun soaking into her. She was right; the city did look better in the day. People bustled around them, paying little attention to the pokemon center as they made their way down the street. Leaf couldn't help but look at everything. She had never been to a city by herself before and she wanted to soak everything in. Red pulled out his map and looked around for any signs to help him find his next location. Leaf looked over his shoulder and spotted the gym. Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"To the gym!" she declared.

The gym was only a couple of blocks away from the pokemon center and Leaf could see it from over the top of a few smaller buildings. Excitement coursed through her. Her very first gym battle! She could practically squeal. She knew every gym specialized in a type, so she wondered which one this one specialized in. Hopefully grass, that way her Charmander had the advantage.

It stood two stories high with a fountain sitting between two sets of stairs leading up to the door. On the inside of both stairs where white pillars, giving it a slightly roman feel. The gym itself was red at the top and white at the bottom and in the middle was a pair of glass doors. Leaf toke the steps two at a time and reached the door in no time. She grabbed the handle and pulled, but to her surprise, it didn't budge. She pulled harder, but still nothing happened. Frustrated, she toke a step back and noticed the sign at the of the doors.

"Sorry, we're closed?! It's closed!" Leaf yelled unhappily. Red walked over and examined the note next to the closed sign.

He motioned Leaf over to read it.

_We are sorry for the inconvienance, but the Viridian city gym is closed for the time being. We encourage you to train and visit the Indigo Platuea while the gym is closed._

She sighed, "Let's go check out the city and then we can go to the platuea place."

When Leaf said check out, she literally meant it. They went in just about every shop they passed, Leaf wanting to buy something, only to have Red turn it down for logical reasons. After only an hour his legs felt like jell-o. Leaf on the other hand looked like she could keep this up all day. Finally they stopped at the shop Red had been waiting for.

"The pokemart?" Leaf read the stores name out in wonder.

Without waiting, Red walked past her and into the store, leaving her behind as she hurried to catch up. Inside, the store was filled with other trainers, examining all sorts of items that Leaf had never seen before. The pokemart was an average sized store with shelves and isles filled with valuable looking items. Near the front was a checkout counter manned by two clerks. Leaf walked closer to a shelf to get a better look. She picked up a yellow spray bottle with the words antidote written across it in bold letters.

"What's this?" Leaf handed the bottle to Red.

"It cures poison," he explained without even glancing down at the bottle.

She took the antidote back from him and placed it on the shelf. Leaf examined many other status curing items, such as the awakening and paralyze heal. Red wandered away from her, intrigued by the different items. Leaf finally came to something she knew, and wanted. She reached out and touched the red and white ball gently before pulling it off the shelf. There were over a hundred pokeballs there, and Leaf could only stare in complete awe and wonder. She grabbed three other pokeballs for good measures and hurried to the check out lane.

To her surprise, Red was already standing by the door, a bag in his hand, waiting. She watched him load various items into his backpack, before returning her attention to the store clerk. The clerk gave her a friendly smile as she set her pokeballs on the belt.

"Did you find everything alright?" He asked and he entered in the amounts.

"Yeah, here you go," she handed him 400 pokedollars.

"Thank you! Please come again." He handed Leaf her bag.

Leaf pulled out her new possessions, and put them in her bag. She walked over to Red and smiled at him.

"Let's go to the pokemon league place! You lead the way!" Leaf said as the automatic doors swished behind her.

Red steered through the streets with Leaf trailing behind them. She couldn't take her eyes off all the people this time. Many of them had pokemon too. She watched a small girl chase after her growlithe, all the while giggling and tripping over her own feet. Another young professional looking, man walked confidently next to a kadabra. It seemed like pokemon were everywhere you looked, and it warmed Leaf's heart. The streets began to thin out after a couple of minutes and trees now loomed in front of them.

"It's this way probably another 10 mins," Red explained as they left the city.

As the house thinned out, the trees began to thicken. Small patches of sun light hit the bottom of the forest floor through the rare spaces between trees. The forest was teeming with life, you could hear it all around you. The problem was being able to see the life around you. Leaf struck up a causal conversation with Red as they journeyed on. The two talked like any friends would, and Leaf found herself enjoying the normalness of their talk. Or maybe she was just enjoying talking to him. As she was figuring out which of the two it was, she heard a twig snap behind her, and then a rustle in the bushes.

Red immediately grabbed his pokeball, ready for what ever jumped out of those bushes. Good thing he did, because a few seconds later a purple pokemon jumped out from behind a tree, ready to fight. It had oversized ear and a large horn sticking out of its forehead above two oversized buck teeth visible in its mouth. It stood on all fours and was no bigger than a foot tall. Red pulled out his pokedex and aimed it at the pokemon.

"Nidoran, the posion pin pokemon. It stiffens its ears to sense danger. The larger its horns, the more powerful its secreted venom." The pokedex mechanically informed them.

Without a second to lose, Red threw out his pokeball. His pidgey appeared, hovering in front of Red. He watched the nidoran for a moment, coming up with a battle strategy. That horn on its head looked pretty nasty, so he wouldn't want pidgey to get poisoned by it.

"Sand-attack."

Pidgey dove low to the ground and flung a cloud of sand at the wild pokemon. It began to cough and look around confused. Without having to hear a command, Pidgey dove forward and slammed into Nidoran's side with a quick attack. It flew backwards before a tree broke its fall. It shook its head, getting the remaining dust out of its over sized ears. It ran forward and jumped in the air, attempting to use double kick. It didn't make to its target though, because it was shot down with a gust attack.

Nidoran was panting heavily now, but didn't look ready to give up. It narrowed its eyes for a leer attack and while Pidgey was distracted, he finally connected a peck attack with Pidgey. The attack did little, and pidgey barely looked fazed. Red called up another gust attack for pidgey to use. The nidoran managed to doge this attack and counter with a double kick. Red didn't like the idea of this battle being a long battle. The chance of pidgey being poisoned continued to grow with each passing second.

"Quick attack."

Pidgey dove towards Nidoran with amazing speed. The wild pokemon wasn't able to doge in time and was struck by the move full blown. It saumersalted backwards and didn't get back up.

Red tossed a pokeball out and watched as the wild pokemon was sucked inside. It shook one, two, three times before it let out a confirming ding. He retrieved his new pokemon and pulled something out of his bag. It looked similar to the antidote Leaf had picked up at the Pokemart, but it was slightly different. She watched curiously as Red began to spray it on his pidgey that now rested on his outstretched arm.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Potion."

"So it heals your pokemon?" She observed that pidgey looked healthy again.

He just nodded as he returned his pokemon. Red drove his hands in his pockets and began to walk. Leaf longed to start up a conversation with him again, but she could sense that their moment was over. She glanced over at him before looking out ahead of them. In the distance, an all too familiar figure walked towards them waving his hand high in the air.

"Red, Leaf! How good to see you two here!" Blue called out.

He wore a smirk on his face as he approached them. He seemed even more cocky than normal today.

"Really glad to see you here too, Blue," Leaf smiled, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"You guys stop by the gym yet?" He ignored Leaf's comment,

"Yeah, we were heading over to see the Indigo Platuea," Leaf replied.

"Don't bother, pretty boring. Ya know, I haven't had a proper battle with you yet Red."

"Maybe we should fix that."

Leaf stepped away from Red as he threw out his pokeball. His pidgey appeared, ready to fight another battle. Leaf wondered what strategy Red planned on using, because pidgey had just finished a battle and was surely worn out. Blue tossed his pokeball and a strong pidgey appeared. The two bird pokemon eyed each other, both eager to fight.

"You can have the first move," Blue offered Red.

Wasting no time Red commanded, "Tackle."

Red's Pidgey shot forward, but Blue's Pidgey simply dodged the attack. Red's pidgey, at his command, sent a gust of wind at Blue's Pidgey. It tried to hold its ground, but ended up being spun around in the gust of wind. Red's pidgey took the opportunity to deliver a tackle to the opposing pokemon.

"Quick attack!" Blue called out.

Before it hit the ground, his pidgey changed directions and slammed into Red's pidgey. Even though Blue's pidgey had taken a considerable amount of damage, it didn't look like it at all.

"Pidgey, gust once more!" Red instructed.

"Counter it with your own gust!" Blue said

The two pidgey launched a gust move at each other. The whirlwinds collided for a moment, before a strong wind pounded into Red's pidgey. It tumbled backwards through the air before smacking into a tree. It tumbled to the ground and landed with a thud. Surprisingly, Red's pidgey pushed itself off the ground. There was a look of sheer determination in its eyes.

"Sand-attack, and gust!" Red called.

While still on the ground, pidgey sent up a cloud of dust before aiming a gust at it. The result was a sandstorm that collided with Blue's pidgey. It cried out as the sand pelted its body. Pidgey looked proud as it flew back up into the sky, ready to finish the battle.

"Get out of there!" Blue yelled frantically.

His pidgey used a gust to blow away the remaining attack. It looked battered and beaten, but far from done. At its trainers command, Red's pidgey tackled his opponents pokemon. But while Red's pidgey was close, Blue's pidgey used a close range gust. Poor pidgey could barely stand the attack and once more collided with the ground. This time, it did not get up though. Without a word, Red returned his pokemon and released his Bulbasuar.

"Bulba!"

"Use vine whip to grab Pidgey."

Two vines shot out of Bulbasuar's back and wrapped around Pidgey's torso. It struggled as Bulbasuar whipped it around and around before finally throwing it into the ground. Pidgey smacked the the ground hard and was knocked out. Blue returned his pokemon and enlarged his next pokemon.

"Go Squirtle!" He released his starter pokemon.

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

The two starter pokemon glared at each other menacingly, both looking ready to fight. At Red's command, Bulbasuar sent a flurry of razor leaves right at Squirtle.

"Use water gun to block the move!"

The two attacks collided, canceling each other out in a spray of shredded leaves and water. Squirtle ran forward and slammed into Bulbasuar, making him skid backwards. It recovered quickly though and lashed out with a vine whip attack. Just as the vines were about to hit, Squirtle pulled into its shell for a withdrawal attack. Bulbasuar aggressively pounded on his shell, but it did little to nothing.

"Water gun!"

Squirtle popped out of its shell and shot a spray of water right at Bulbasuar. Even though he was hit, the attack did little damage. Bulbasuar shook off the water and glared at Squirtle. _If I use vine whip he'll just deflect it with his shell, but if I use razor leaf he'll use water gun to counter it, _Red though to himself as he coolly evaluated the situation

"Use tackle," Red called out.

Bulbasuar charged at his opponent, and crashed into Squirtle before he could retreat to his shell. Squirtle stumbled backwards before firing another water gun attack.

"Take the attack and use your vines to grab Squirtle's feet."

Bulbasuar did precisely as his trainer said and let the attack hit. While Squirtle was using water gun, Bulbasuar pulled his feet out from underneath him using his vines. Squirtle now hung upside down in the air. Bulbasuar swung Squirtle head first into a near by tree. Before Squirtle could recover, Bulbasuar bombarded him with a razor leaf attack. Squirtle was unable to withstand the two grass type moves and fell unconscious beneath the tree.

Blue returned his pokemon without saying a word. There was a look of surprise on his face, but he shook it off. Red also returned his pokemon, and with out a word walked over to blue with his hand forward. Blue shook it, but said no words. A feeling of understanding crossed the two.

"If your heading to the Indigo Plataeu, don't waste your time. It's closed anyways," he stuck his hands in his pocket and walked towards Viridian city.

"Smell ya later!" He called as he grew smaller and smaller.

Leaf turned to Red and asked, "So what now?"

"Viridian Forest,"

**I just love writing scenes between Leaf and Red. They are so cute! In the next chapter I plan on writing a lot more RedxLeaf scenes so be ready! Just a reminder that OC's are still open if anybody wants to make one. The requirement are in the first chapter. So, I've been inspired by a few other stories and I've decided to try something new. The first person to answer my question correctly gets to pick one of Red's or Leaf's Pokemon. Please review, I really appreciate everything you guys leave me!**

**Question: What is Leaf's favorite color?**


	4. Chapter 4

**So I'm back! This chapter took me a really long time to write because I have been flooded with school. So sorry about that. As for the the question in the last chapter, the winner is...Black Falcon! So I'll Pm you about the pokemon you want. Thanks to everyone who guessed and reviewed.**

**Chapter 4**

Trees taller than houses were shrouded by darkness as they loomed spookily just ahead. The cries of wild pokemon rang through out the air. A cool breeze blew Leaf's hair off her left shoulder while she hugged herself. Red stood in front of the ever darkening massive forest, his eyes filled with determination and a hunger for adventure. Goosebumps rose on the back of Leaf's neck, but the pull of curiosity overpowered the feelings of fear creeping into her. Red hiked his freshly stocked backpack up his shoulders. After their battle, Red had made a quick stop at the Pokemon Center, grabbed a bite to eat, and then revisited the PokeMart.

The sun seemed unable to touch the darkness between the trees, though it sat high in the sky. Leaf continued to walk deeper into Viridian Forest as Red re-checked his map. She listened closer to the sound of pokemon, trying to distinguish them. She wondered if she would catch any pokemon in there. Leaf glanced behind her, noting how the trees behind her were much thinner and lighter than the ones in front of her. Red put his map away and glanced around them. They stepped into the thicker part of the forest, and Leaf almost immediately missed the sun. Red just walked past her though, not seeming to care at all.

Leaf watched the back of his head bob up and down as he walked. She wondered whether he would ever think of her the way she did of him. He seemed pretty oblivious to her feelings, which she didn't know whether to be grateful for or not. Her biggest fear was being rejected and losing her best friend, but it was so hard not to blurt out she was in love with him every time she opened her mouth. Leaf had played the scenario of how she would confess her feelings so many times in her head it almost felt real. Only in real life he probably wouldn't confess he had the same feelings and kiss her.

"This is so creepy," she broke the silence.

He gave curt nod, but didn't answer as he just kept walking.

"How come you never really talk? I mean, I do about 99%of the talking and now that I think about it, I really don't know a ton about you. I know you like pokemon and stuff I guess. We don't really have deep conversations like most friends, do we? But I think we're pretty close, right?" She rambled on.

He glanced back at her, an eyebrow raised. She tried to keep the blush from creeping up her checks, but failed. He turned back and simply shrugged.

"Actions speak louder than words," he replied.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. So how have you liked our pokemon journey so far?" She walked up to his side and looked over at him.

"It's good."

"That's good. Mine has lived up to every expectation and its only been a couple of days." She ducked under some low hanging branches as she talked.

"Battling is so fun too. It just gives you this high and it is one of the most fun things I've ever done. I feel so much closer to my pokemon when I'm battling too." Leaf was talking so much she almost didn't notice Red had stopped walking and was staring at her head.

She was about to ask why he was staring when she heard a soft chewing noise. It seemed to be right in her ears. She suddenly felt as though her hat was weighing down on the top of her head. Leaf slowly reached up and pulled her hat off her head. Sitting on top was an all too familiar green bug happily gnawing at her hat.

"Caterpie," it declared, looking up at her.

"Get off my hat," she frowned, trying to pick it up.

The second Leaf's hand touched the caterpie, its mood turned from happy to very sour. It squirmed away from her grip and brought it tail around. Leaf shrinked away, but it was too late. A series of string shots hit her square in the face. She dropped her hat at once and took a step back, pulling at the strings furiously. Her back bumped into a tree and suddenly the air was filled with a buzzing noise. Red suddenly snatched Leaf's wrist with one hand and pulled her hat out from underneath the caterpie with the other. Without giving the pokemon a chance to retaliate, he was running away. Leaf stumbled blindly behind him, still trying to pull away the sticky strings all over her face as she blindly followed him. She manged to pull away enough to see through one eye. Even though the tree was far behind them, the buzzing seemed to be getting louder. Confused, Leaf glanced behind her.

"Red!" She shrieked as he continued to pull her foward.

Leaf felt her heart drop into her stomach as she stared at the sheer number of them. There had to be at least twenty extremely angry beedrill in high pursuit of them right now. Fear coursed through her veins as she pulled off the remaining strings. Even though she could see perfectly, Red continued to lead her through the maze of trees. Leaf didn't resist. She doubted she could manuevur through the forest nearly as well as he did. Leaf sneaked a peak back at the bug pokemon to find that they were gaining on them. Pretty soon they would be on them, and that would not be pretty.

"They're gaining on us," Leaf said breathlessly, "We need to fight."

"No," he answered back without a second to waste.

They suddenly veered sharply to left, so sharp that Leaf almost lost her footing. He let go of her now and was full on sprinting. Ever since she could walk, Leaf had prided herself on being the fastest in Pallet Town, but for once she did not want to be in front. The trees seemed to thin up and the sun was peaking through their branches. Red finally found what he had been looking for. In front of them was a small lake. Small waves illuminated by the sun rippled across its surface slowly. Lone pokemon sat at its edge peacefully drinking or cooling off in the refreshing water. The serene and peaceful view was ruined as the two trainers charged right into the water.

Without a second thought, Red had thrown his bag off his shoulder and was running into the water. Leaf followed his lead and found herself in waist length water within seconds.

The beedrill erupted from the forest in a frenzy, looking around eagerly for their lost prey. Red and Leaf were submerged up to their chins. Leaf's heart was pumping so loud in her chest she feared it would give them away. They scanned the area, spotting the various wild pokemon and even looking right at them for a moment. But the beedrills must have mistaken them for more wild pokemon, for the lingered only a few moments before buzzing off to search somewhere else. Red and Leaf stood there for a few minutes, neither one of them daring to move in case the beedrill came back. After another minute of silence, Red deemed it safe enough to leave the water.

They emerged soaking wet and cold to the bone. Leaf couldn't help but chatter her teeth as she hugged her arms around herself. Red was a little more dignified and pulled of his soaking vest and wrung it out. Leaf fumbled with her pokeball belt before releasing her fire lizard pokemon. It looked up at its trainer happily as it shot a small ember into the air. Leaf patted her pokemon on the head and held her hands over the small flame flickering above his tail. Red watched her for a moment before rummaging in his bag for something.

"Here." Red held out a clean vest.

Leaf gingerly took it, her eyes studying it in awe. Putting it didn't make her much warmer, but she knew the gesture was out of kindness.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him.

He nodded and slung his wet vest over his shoulder. She picked up her small fire pokemon, relishing his warmth. He cried out happily and licked Leaf's cheek, causing her to giggle.

"How did you know they wouldn't see us in the water?"

"I didn't." A sly grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Leaf's jaw dropped open. She stared at him, studying the way his dark brown eyes stared back at hers with confidence. Leaf huffed, shaking her head in disbelief. He bent down and pulled her white hat off of the shallow waves lapping at the shore. He placed it back on her head as he walked by, and then shoved his hands into his jean pocket. Leaf scurried to pick up her discarded satchel and ran to Red's side. She was still in shock her friend would have just gone out on a wim like that; it was unlike him.

"That was so risky," she sputtered, her charmander nodding in agreement.

"Life's full of them." Red never missed a beat.

"What if they would have recognized us?" She pressed "We would have been dead meat."

"We could have hid underwater, not like they can swim."

Red wasnt much a talker, but when he did open his mouth, it was usually something clever, or important. Leaf on the other hand loved to talk, like most girls do, and would ramble on about pointless topics for long periods of time. Leaf kept her mouth shut this time, not sure of what to say in reply. She sighed, giving up, and looked around them. They had walked back into the shady part of the forest, though Leaf had no idea which direction they needed to be going.

"Can I see the map?" She asked.

began to grind inside her, emitting a weird noise.

"Let's stop and eat," Leaf suggested.

Red agreed. They stopped in a small clearing that the sun was barley visible in. Leaf set her bag down and went into the woods with Charmander to find sticks as Red rummaged through his bag. He found his foldable pot and pulled it out along with two cans. Leaf meanwhile was humming to herself as she continued to pick up sticks littering the forest floor. Charmander was more than happy to help and he was carrying a handful of sticks himself. Leaf was about to pick up a thicker stick when she heard a soft chewing noise. She groaned inwardly, assuming it was another caterpie. She beckoned her pokemon over and slowly began to lift the log.

Underneath was a small caterpillar like pokemon, munching on some crushed leaves. Unlike the caterpie though, it was a tanish yellow color with a pink nose and a large cone shaped horn on its head and a smaller one of the tip of its tail. The pokemon was very small and seemed not to mind their presence. Leaf smiled and let out a small awe as she observed the wild pokemon. She crouched down low and studied it for a moment. She knew right away she wanted to capture it, but she didn't want to disturb it or attack it either.

"Hi there buddy," She cooed, extending a hand.

It glanced up at her hand and sniffed it cautiously. While it was deeming her friendly or not, Leaf pulled out her pokedex and scanned the pokemon.

"Weedle, the hairy bug pokemon. It's often found in forests eating leaves. It has a sharp venomous stinger on its head." The pokedex said.

"So weedle's your name," she murmured as it went back to eating.

She reached to her belt and pulled off a small empty pokeball. Enlarging it, she tapped it against his body, engulfing it with a red light and sucking it into the pokeball. It shook three times in her hand before it let out a ding. Leaf squealed in happiness. She let out her newly caught pokemon at once and let it get acquainted with her starter pokemon. Her weedle seemed to take a liking to Charmander at once and next it squirmed over to her feet. She picked it up and placed it on her shoulder, smiling as she imagined what Red would think of her coming back with the pokemon. She quickly gathered the rest of her fire wood and walked back to camp.

Red glanced up from the soup he had made when Leaf walked back to their little camp. He immediately noticed the pokemon on her shoulder and gave her a questioning look. Leaf pretended not to notice as Charmander and her placed their fire wood in a pile. She peered in his pot, causally checking to see what was for supper.

"Leaf, there's a weedle on your shoulder," he phrased it more as a question than a statement.

"Yup!" She beamed with pride, "This is my newly caught weedle."

Red walked over to her and examined her newly caught pokemon. He looked over at her and they shared a smile. Leaf followed him back over to the fire wood where they began to arrange it to support a camp fire. Charmander shoot an ember at it, and it suddenly became alive with a crackle and pop of light. He set the pot over the fire and called out his pokemon. They called out their respectful names and began to devour their food. Leaf released her rattata as well, and watched as it scampered over to join its friends. Soon the soup was hot enough to eat, and Red and Leaf didn't need to be told twice their food was ready.

After everyone was finished eating, they had a small clean up session. The fire burned brightly, while the waves of heat rolling off it pulled everyone towards it. The sun was starting to set and Leaf wanted nothing more than to stay their and have a bonfire. Seeing Red was ready to get up and leave, she pulled a bag filled with marshmallows out of her bag.

"Look what I brought!" Leaf exclaimed, holding her prize out in the air.

Red took one look at the bag, and ran off to find the perfect stick. Leaf smiled to herself as ripped open the bag and shoved a marshmallow on the closest stick she could find. Red returned a minutes later with a nice roasting stick and proceeded to roast the perfect golden marshmallow. Leaf preferred her marshmallows burnt, so the middle would be nice and goey. Soon the pokemon had grabbed sticks and were roasting their own marshmallows in no time. Camps fire songs and laughs were shared while the fire burned brightly in the darkening night. Before they knew it, night was upon them.

"We should probably get some rest," Leaf said.

Red nodded in agreement, watching as the ember from the fire flickered weakly in their ashes. They both recalled their pokemon and unpacked their sleeping bags. Leaf set it out and crawled between the covers. She was asleep before her head hit her pillow. Red stayed awake a bit longer though. He hadn't been very fond of sleep lately. He knew he needed the rest though, and forced himself to close his eyes, dreading what came next

"Red," Leaf's voice urgently whispered, pulling him out his sleep.

He opened his eyes and waited for them to focus on Leaf's face looming over his own. At first he thought his eyes were taking an extra long time to adjust to the trees in the background, but he realized that everything around her face was white because of fog. He sat up, and Leaf leaned back so they wouldn't hit their heads together. He looked around, but there wasn't much to see. A white fog had rolled over the forest so thick you could cut it with a knife. Leaf's eyes watched him urgently as he took everything in.

"There's something in your bag," Leaf whispered.

He looked at her questioningly.

"I didn't want it to be a beedrill," she explained.

He unzipped his sleeping bag and stood up quietly. Sure enough, there was a scratching noise coming from his bag. As they inched closer, the movement stopped. A yellow thunder-bolt tail stuck out of the bag. The pokemon inside crawled out of his bag toreveal an all to familiar electric rodent.

"Pikachu?" It looked at them surprised.

Sitting on top of its head and covering its ears was Red's baseball cap. Laying by its feet was his pokedex. Red took a step toward it, but it snatched up the pokedex in its mouth and ran off. Without a second thought, Red was running after it. He heard Leaf call out his name, but he kept running. No way was he about to loose the one thing professor Oak had given him. He would hear no end of it from Blue. The pikachu was fast, but so was Red. After realizing that it couldn't out run him, it shoot up the nearest tree.

Red began to climb up the tree after the wild pokemon determinedly. It watched him worried. The pokemon's cheeks began to sizzle with electricity. Red was climbing pretty fast, and he would have the pikachu withing reach soon. He heard Leaf running up the tree below him, but he continued to climb. The pikachu looked about ready to shock him, and he realized how dealy an electric attack could be from this height.

"Red!" Leaf screamed in fear.

Red swung his head around in time to see an angry beedrill flying incredibly fast right at him. Before he had a chance to react, it was shoot down by a bold of electricity. He watched it spiral down and hit the forest floor not far from Leaf. Red turned back around and exchanged a wide eyed look with the pikachu. Leaf jumped back as the beedrill pushed itself up and began to buzz angerly. The noise was suddenly amplified as it seemed to come from all around them.

"Red!" Leaf called again.

The pikachu ran right down past him, his hat and pokedex discarded in its panic. Leaf ran forward and caught the pokedex before it smashed to pieces. Red snatched his hat from the air as he began his descent. A swarm of beedrill twice as large as the last one they had seen was flying at them. Seeing Red up in the tree, Leaf knew she had to stall them while he climbed down. She called out her Charmander and Weedle, knowing rattata wouldn't be very effective in a battle against flying pokemon. The wild pikachu let out a startled cry and ran back towards Leaf. About 5 beedrills were in high pursuit of the electric mouse.

"Ember!"

Charmander hit two beedrill, and KO'd them with the super effective move. The pikachu sent out a thunder shock and hit the other three, knocking them out as well. They turned to face the other swarm. Leaf commanded her weedle to use a string shot while pikachu continued to shook the swarm. It did little to dent it though. Red finally hopped from his tree and called out his pidgey, bulbasuar, and nidoran.

"Gust, razor leaf, posion sting!" He instructed

"Ember, string shot!"

All the pokemon fired their attacks, but the swarm was upon them. Suddenly the everything was lost in the chaos. Red felt his throat clench as he stepped away from the action. A beedrill flew at him, it's drill like arms raised and ready to attack. He jumped away just before it slammed into him. It was about to come around for round 2 when it was slashed repeatidly with two vines. Red looked at his grass pokemon appreciatively before it returned to the mass battle. He saw the occasional flash of fire or bolt of lightning, but he couldn't see Leaf anywhere.

"Leaf!" He called out in a panic.

And then they were gone as soon as they had come. Red noticed many of the pokemon were wounded as they retreated back into the safety of the forest. Leaf was facing him, panting heavily and hugging her weedle closely. Red returned his pokemon quickly and walked over to her. Charmander sat at her feet, his face a sickly green color. He spotted the wild pikachu laying wounded not far away. Without thinking, he ran over and stopped up the hurt pokemon. He knelt down and placed it next to Charmander.

"Do you have an antidote?" Leaf asked.

He nodded, pulling out a needle and a small container of the antidote. He also grabbed an Oran berry from his bag. He filled up the needle with the antidote and gave Charmander a shot. Charmander sighed in relief and leaned against Leaf's leg. He tended pikachu' wounds next. It watched him the whole time, its eyes full of questions. Red guessed that people typical hadn't been very kind the pikachu. When he finished tending its wounds, it scampered away. Before it left though, it gave them one final look.

"Let's go before we get attacked again," Leaf said.

Red swung his bag over his shoulder and waited for Leaf to return her pokemon. She was still breathing hard, and looked pretty shaken up. She bent down and grab her bag. Red could see tears in her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder. The two walked back towards pewter city, both more than ready to leave the forest. They had been walking about 45 mins when Red noticed that Leaf was breathing heavily.

"I need to rest," she said.

"We're almos there," he urged her on.

She gulped, nodded, and took another step. Her leg suddenly crumbled underneath her and she fell. Red caught her before she hit the ground. Her face looked unnaturally pale, and she was shaking. He noticed the back side of her shirt was torn and a small cut ran across her lower back.

"Stay with me Leaf," he begged her.

She looked up at him, her eyes watery and unfocused. Her lips parted to say something, but they never left her mouth. Her body went limp, and everything turned black.

**What a cliffhanger, huh? So hopefully Leaf will be okay, but you never know right. It was super fun writing this chapter because of all the action and interaction between Leaf and Red. What do you guys think of this mysterious pikachu? Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorites, and follows my story!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter** 5**

A small rasp sounded from behind the wooden door. A man looked up from behind his polished desk. He wore a black suit that was a shade darker than his black buzz cut hair. A Persian laying peacefully at the corner of his desk raised his head at the sound. The man stroked the cat pokemon's head and looked back down at the paper he had been reading.

"Come in," his voice was low and commanding.

A tall woman dressed in a white dress with a team rocket insignia walked in. Her blood red hair was cut short and curled around her chin. She knelt to one knee with her head bowed down in respect.

"Giovanni, a pleasure to see you again," she stood back up, her red eyes searching his cold brown ones.

"Likewise Ariana," he replied, glancing up from his work.

"We have new information about the shoe marks we found. We have narrowed our search to a single pair of shoes," she looked pleased with herself as she recited the information.

"The shoes can be identified from their tread marks as the 2 year old Kanto swish model and are a size 7. Judging from their size, we are guessing the owner of these shoes is a 12-13 year old boy. He likely lives in Pallet Town, the closest town." She informed him.

Giovanni thoughtfully stroked his Persian, his face showing no emotion. He regarded Ariana with cold eyes, her confidence wavering under his stare.

"What do you propose we do?" He tested her.

"I... I think that we should send grunts to search the town for the boy. Once they find him, they should take him, and possibly his family if he doesn't cooperate. We can get information out of him that way," She explained.

"You think that we can simply take a family, and nobody will notice? You would practically be begging for the police to come arrest us," he growled at her stupidity.

Ariana shrunk away from his harsh words, her eyes darting to the floor. Giovanni let out a breathe of disapproval.

"Send out the police grunts, and tell them to find the boy. Have them make up a story about how his life is in danger and they need to keep him in police custody to protect him. Make them interrogate him, and if he doesn't give us the answers, fake an attack on the station and steal the boy. At that point do whatever you need to to get information out of him,"

Ariana nodded, her red hair bobbing up and down as she thought this made much more sense than her plan, but said nothing. She glanced from the cat pokemon purring contently, to her leader's stone face.

"And if he knows nothing?" She asked.

"Kill him,"

Red's legs numbly moved forward, every muscle in his body begging for a break, no matter how small. He ignored the pain, and instead focused on the unconscious body in his arms. Her head was leaning against his chest, her hat had fallen off in to her lap. Her face was unnaturally pale with a sickly green tint in her checks. Her light brown hair was a mess around her, but Red couldn't help but notice the curves of her lip and the small freckles dotting her nose. He tried to memorize every detail, fearing the worst. She let out a small moan of pain, bringing him back to his mission on hand. He had been walking nonstop for almost a half hour now. Since the moment she passed out, he had been carrying her in his arms, determined to keep her alive. He would have called his pokemon out to help him carry her, but he feared if he stopped moving he wouldn't be able to start again.

He had to be getting close to Pewter City by now. He heard the occasional flurry of wings and scurry of paws, but he ignored it. Nothing mattered right now, but getting her to safety. He could see the outline of the pewter city on the horizon, and relief filled him. Red stumbled, before finding his footing. He prayed to Mew that someone would walk by and help him. But nobody did.

Finally Red arrived at the city limits, every step taking an enormous amount of effort. A man walking by with spiky brown hair and tan skin stopped when he saw Red. He quickly ran over to Red, his face a mask of concern.

"What happened? Are you alright?" He asked.

Red just shook his head weakly, and pushed Leaf towards the stranger. The man got the memo, and took Leaf from him. As much as he didn't like giving her to a strange man, he didn't think he could carry her any farther.

"She was poisoned," He said between heavy breaths.

"We should take her to the pokemon center. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes," Red nodded.

Once inside the pokemon center, the man brought Leaf to the front desk. The moment Nurse Joy saw her, she began to give order to the chansey surrounding her. She hurried around the desk and felt Leaf's forehead. The man explained what had happened as they brought out a stretcher. He laid her down on the it and they began to whisk her away. Red followed, worry eating him alive.

"Are you her brother?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Friend, we were traveling together," Red replied meekly.

"You'll need to wait out here. I assure you she'll be fine though," Nurse Joy said as they went through a pair of double doors.

Red watched the doors swing back and forth, his stomach clenching. He stood there for a moment, debating as to whether or not he should follow them. With a sigh he turned around and found the seat closest to the door. Resting his head on his hands, he waited and waited and waited. He could feel his eyes growing heavy and fought to keep them open. Just for a minute, he promised himself as he fell asleep.

"Excuse me sir,"

Red slowly awoke, his eyes taking a moment to focus. Nurse Joy stood over him, her hand gently shaking his shoulder. He jolted up, his eyes darting around nervously looking for Leaf. Joy smiled at him sweetly, finding his concern very cute.

"Your friend is doing fine. She is a strong fighter and will recover in no time," She informed him happily.

"Where is she," He looked around the room.

"Follow me," Joy clutched her clipboard to her chest as she lead Red down a hall and into a room.

Leaf lay in the bed, the blankets pulled up to her chest and her hair soaking wet. Sitting on her head was her newly caught weedle, and on her lap were Charmander and Ratattat. They were so engaged in a movie on T.V. with a blonde haired princess and kecleon that they didn't even notice him walk in. Joy closed the door behind her, and Leaf's head turned to the side. Her eyes lit up the second she saw him, followed shortly by a big grin.

"Leaf," He sighed in relief.

"Hey Red," She sat up in her bed, causing all of her pokemon to shift with her.

"I was so worried about you," Red confessed.

Leaf's cheeks flushed, "I'm fine."

"What were you thinking? You could have died! Why didn't you tell me you were poisoned?" His relief was masked by his annoyance that she even put herself in that position.

"Charmander needed it more than I did. Besides, I'm fine. There's no need to worry," She patted her charmander's head.

Red shook his head in disbelief, unable keep from admiring Leaf for her love of pokemon. He took a seat in the recliner next to her bed, watching the t.v. for a moment. It was obvious to tell that even though she was in much better condition than a few hours ago, she was no where near ready to leave her bed and travel.

"How long till you are all better?"

"I can leave tomorrow, but Joy recommended two days of rest,"

Knowing Leaf, she would no doubt be out and about tomorrow. Even now she seemed anxious to get up and do something. Red was surprised that she was sitting so still and watching the movie. He squirmed in his chair.

"You don't have to stay in here and wait for me to get better, you know," Leaf pointed out.

"What else would I be doing?" Red cocked his head to the side.

"You could go look around the city. I know you're already bored sitting here with me. Heck, I'm bored sitting here with me," Leaf offered her a toothy grin.

"I'll be back before supper," He promised, sitting up abruptly.

Leaf watched him walk away excitedly, cursing her sick body for trapping her here. Red stepped outside, and took a breath of fresh air. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. A breeze drifted by, wafting the smell of newly budded flowers through the air. To the left of the center he could see the gym, but he would visit that tomorrow with Leaf. He pulled a new map out of his pocket, and examined the city. He spotted a museum icon not far from him, and decided to check it out.

It was a short walk to the Pewter City Museum. The museum was a large brown and black building, with a sign proclaiming its name over a pair of glass double doors. Red pulled open the doors and was greeted by a short man behind a counter.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pewter City Museum. We are proud to hold the largest collection of fossils, and fossilized pokemon in all of the regions! The entry fee is 50$, but if you wish to have a guide, it is an extra 25$," the man cheerfully explained.

Red handed the man 50$ without a word and walked into the museum. The man wasn't lieing. Surrounding him were tons of fossils, and even some complete skeletons. His mouth dropped open as he walked over to a real skeleton of a kabutops. It had wicked looking scythes for hands and a crescent moon shaped head. Next to the skeleton was a life-like model of the pokemon. Below was a kabuto and a skeleton kabuto. Red marveled at them for a moment, admiring how real the pokemon looked, before moving on the next pre-historic pokemon.

There were countless fossils there, which took up the majority of the museum. Upstairs it featured a rocket, and a few other cool things, but it was mostly fossils. Having seen mostly everything, Red made his way to the back of the museum to get some fresh air. That's when he heard voices, in the otherwise empty area. At first they were indistinguishable, but as he neared he heard them clearer.

"Please, leave us alone," a small high pitched voice begged, her voice wavering in fear.

"Just hand it over kid, and I swear I won't hurt ya," a rough older sounding voice pestered her impatiently.

Red swung open the door to reveal a small girl and man. The girl looked no older than 6, with brown hair pulled into pig tails, big blue eyes, and a light pink dress. Clutched to her chest was a pink star shaped pokemon, looking equally as fearful. The man was in his mid twenties, and looked pretty gruff. He wore a black hat and all black clothing. A shiver rushed down Red's spine when he spotted the big red R on the front of his shirt. The man growled at him, turning his attention away from the girl.

"Get the hell out of here kid, this ain't none of your business," the man said threatening.

For a second, there was nothing Red wanted to do more. Here was team rocket, standing right in front of him. The people that threatened to destroy his life, and the grunt showed no signs of recognition of Red. If he left now, he might be able to go back, and pretend like none of this happened. He would be safe. But then he saw the look on the little girl's face, and his hands clenched into a fist. Anger boiled up inside of his, and he found himself taking a step towards the man.

"Leave her alone," Red growled, his eyes narrowed menacingly.

Before he could register it, a fist caught him on his jaw and sent him reeling. He stumbled backwards and reached up to touch his split lip. Warm blood clung to his fingers. He wiped away the remaining blood with the back of his hand and reached for his pokeball.

"So you want to battle you little son of a bitch," the grunt taunted him, reaching for his own pokeball.

"Go Nidoran!"

"Zubat!"

Nidoran appeared in a flash of red light, eager to fight. The pokemon across from it was a pokemon tht looked like a small blue bat with over grown ears and no eyes.

"Nidoran, use focus energy!" Red instructed.

Nidoran focuses intently, while the opposing zubat swooped down to use wing attack. Under Red's command. Nidoran dodged in the nick of time and while the zubat was close, used peck. The focus energy paid off, as the attack landed a critical-hit. Zubat was hurt, but it certainly was not out.

"Supersonic!"

Zubat let out a screech, followed by rings of gold that surrounded Nidoran. Nidoran immediately began to become dizzy and stumbled around, barely staying up right. Red cursed under his breathe as he returned his pokemon. He enlarged his next pokeball and tossed it. It hit the ground and Pidgey appeared in a flash of red light.

"Pidgey, use quick attack!"

Pidgey shoot forward with incredible speed and slammed into Zubat. Before it had a chance to recover, Pidgey blasted it with a full power gust. The zubat spun in the air for a moment, before it composed it self. It lurched forward and sunk itsteeth into pidgey. It began to drain energy from pidgey using leech life. Pidgey cried out in panic and began to flap around, trying to dislodge the pokemon.

"Pidgey, get it off by spinning!" Red instructed.

Pidgey began to spin as it dove towards the ground, gaining speed. At the last second, it pulled up, Zubat falling off its back and onto the ground. Pidgey swooped back around and dive bombed the pokemon, this time not letting up. Pidgey hit Zubat hard, knocking it out cold. The grunt scowled as he returned his pokemon and sent out his next one. A purple spherical pokemon emerged, toxic gasses hanging around it. It had two large vacant eyes and below its mouth was a skull and cross bones.

"Koffing!" It declared its name.

The grunt glanced at the third pokeball on Red's belt and then back at him. A michevious grin spread across his face, causing goosebumps to crawl up Red's arm. He grabbed his last pokeball and released another koffing. Red was about to send out bulbasaur when the grunt spoke up.

"Smokescreen, both of you!" He commanded.

Both of the pokemon opened their mouth and a thick smog surrounded Red and the girl. The girl began to cough violently as the smoke filled her lungs.

"Gust," Red said between coughs.

The smoke began to clear up around them as his pidgey furiously blew the smoke away. When it had cleared, Red say that the grunt had escaped. He scowled to himself, wording if the grunt would tell his leader about him. He turned back to the girl, whose face was now covered in smoke and smog. She looked relieved and happy none the less.

"Thank you so much sir," she walked over to him.

"Cleffa!" The small pokemon in her arms jumped out and hugged Red.

Soon enough, the little girl was hugging him as well. Red hugged them back, a warmth filling his chest as he looked down at her. She offered him a shy smile before pulling her Cleffa back to her.

"Now where are your parents?"

Red stood in an abandoned park. The flowers bloomed the colors of the rainbow, and occasionally a pokemon would scamper by to smell them. Bulbasuar stood at his side, smelling the flowers himself. Red crouched down and scratched his pokemon behind the ear before smelling them himself. He reached down and plucked a bright red one, thinking that Leaf would like it. He picked a couple more and tied them together with a thin string.

He had cleaned the smoke off his face, but the stench of it still clung to his clothes. There was no hiding the large crack in his lip either. He would just have to make up a story. A large part of him had decided that telling Leaf about the team rocket incident would not be very smart. She was very stressed out as it already was, and he just felt like he should keep his problems to himself.

"Should we do a little training?" Red asked Bulbasaur, as they walked away from the meadow.

Bulbasaur enthusiastically nodded his head yes, causing Red to chuckle. He released his other two pokemon when they were far enough away from the flower field. They trained and Red decided that he should join in on the fun too. After an hour, they were all exhausted and ready to go back. Red returned his pokemon and headed back to the pokemon center. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was a quarter til 7. He jumped in the shower before walking over to Leaf's room.

"Hey Red," Leaf smiled as she heard him enter.

Her head turned to look at him, her emotion going from happy to horrified when she spotted the split lip.

"What happened?" She asked, eyeing the battle wound.

"Just got into a heated battle with another trainer, it was a pretty close battle, but I won," Well, it was mostly true.

Leaf stared at him, her face mixed with uncertainty, but she said nothing in response. Red glanced at the t.v. to find a movie playing with a deerling, stunky, and bunnelby playing in a meadow peacefully. What was Leaf watching? He plopped down on the chair next to her, feeling his wet hair sprinkle water everywhere, and handed Leaf the flowers. A small blush formed on her cheeks as she accepted them.

"Wanna go out to eat?" Leaf asked.

Red smiled, nodding at his friend. He sat up excitedly and threw the covers off herself to reveal that her traveling clothes and even shoes were on. She swung her legs off the bed and jumped up, excited to be moving again. She returned her pokemon that still lay on the bed. Leaf turned to Red, her face shining with a large smile. Together, the walked out of the pokemon center and into the lamp-lit city. Even though the sun was visible in glimpses behind the buildings, the streets still held a dark feeling to them.

They walked around the city for about 20 minutes until they found a suitable restaurant. It was a take-out chinese place, but there was nothing in the world they would rather have had. After they received their food, Leaf and Red headed off to the meadow Red visited earlier that day. Once there, they both released their pokemon. Everyone was chowing down happily as a flock of birds circled above. Leaf glanced up at them, watching the 10 or so spearow fly around the meadow, but thought nothing about it. Suddenly, a lone spearow dived down towards them, and soon the rest of the flock followed.

"Char!" Charmander warned, barely jumping to the side as a spearow's beak grazed his side.

The clearing erupted in chaos as the spearow began to steal the food. Charmander shot one out of the sky with an ember, while Bulbasaur lashed out with vine whip. Leaf protected her head;the flock relentlessly pecking and pulling at her hat and head. In all the craziness, one of the spearows scooped up Weedle in its talons and began to fly away. Weedle cried out in panic as it was carried away.

"Pidgey, get weedle back!" Red cried, swatting away the pestering pokemon.

Pidgey flew out after it, its wings flapping viciously as it raced to save its friend. Leaf ran towards her stolen pokemon, fear threatening to flood her. While the trainer's pokemon fought off the flock, Pidgey and spearow were caught in a deadly race. Pidgey was gaining on spearow, the additional weight of Weedle slowing it down. The spearow sensed that Pidgey was gaining and turned around to face it. Pidgey slammed into the spearow hard, causing it to loose its grip on its prey. Without a second thought, Pidgey dove underneath Weedle, catching it on its back. The spearow wasn't done yet though, and flew at pidgey with amazing speeds. Its beak connected with Pidgey's wing, causing it to cry out in pain. Weedle shot out a string shot, entangling its wings. In its panic, the spearow hit Weedle off Pidgey's back before plummeting in a tangled mess. Weedle and the spearow tumbled through the sky helplessly. Pidgey tucked in its wings and dove towards its friend.

At this rate, Pidgey knew it would never make it in time to save his friend from ending as a splat on the pavement. In sheer determination, Pidgey began to glow white. At moment before weedle hit the ground, Pidgey emerged a pidgeotto, and snatched up the bug pokemon. Weedle curled around the newly evolved pidgeotto's talons as they soared back to their trainers. Leaf cried in relief when she saw her pokemon had safely returned. The rest of the spearow had flown off to save their plummeting leader from death. Red beamed in pride as his bird pokemon landed in front of him.

"Nice work Pidgeotto," He praised it, stroking its head.

Leaf hugged her pokemon close to her, close to tears.

"Thank you so much," She smiled at Pidgeotto.

"Now, all we need to do is challenge the Pewter City Gym," Red decared, his eyes shinning with newfound determination.

**Sorry, I know the ending kinda sucks. I just couldn't think of a better way to end it. Anyways, our first pokemon to evolve! How exciting right! So does anybody know the two movies I referred to Leaf as watching? If so leave, a review please. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Red and Leaf stood side-by-side in front of the Pewter City Gym. The gym looking like it had been made with giants boulders, and concrete. That being said, it was mostly grey with the words Peter Gym carved into the top right corner of the building. Leaf grabbed the handle of the giants wooden doors, and pulled it open. Inside, was a giant room, most of it covered with a rocky terrain, and jagged rocks stuck out of the ground. On the far side of the gym there was a small platform and a set of steps leading up to it. Meditating on the platform, was a tan skinned man wearing a green vest over an orange shirt. His brown hair was spiked and his face a mask of calm. Red recognized him almost immediately as the man who helped him with Leaf.

"Excuse me," Leaf hollered, waving her arms.

Red cringesd and almost snapped at Leaf to be quiet, but he saw the smile on the gym leader's mouth. The man stood up and descended the stairs. Red and Leaf walked over to him, Leaf's heartbeat pounding in her chest.

"I never got the opportunity to thank you. I'm Red," Red held out his hand.

"My name is Brock, and I'm the gym leader of this gym," He accepted Red's outstretched hand in a firm handshake.

Leaf looked at the two puzzled, wondering when they would have meet each other. Seeing the confused look on her face, Brock turned to her.

"And you seem to be doing fine now. I'm glad you made a good recovery," He smiled at her.

"Thanks, but how did you know?" She cocked her head to the side in puzzlement.

Brock chuckled, "I saw your friend here coming into town carrying you. You were out like a rock. He explained that you had been poisoned in the forest, so I helped carry you to the pokemon center. You recovered very quickly though."

Leaf nodded enthusiastically. She glanced at the arena behind him and back at him.

"Are you a rock type user?" Leaf guessed.

"Very good, are you planning on challenging me today?"

"Yeah, and I intend to win," She said very confidently.

"We'll see about that. I'm no push-over," He smiled at her.

Brock lead Leaf over to her area of the battle ground and took his own. Red walked over to the stands to cheer his friend on. Leaf sized up the arena around them, trying to think up a battle strategy. She realized in a second that all her pokemon had the type disadvantage against rock types. I can still win this. Type advantage isn't everything she assured herself.

"The rules are simple. We each can use two different pokemon and 2 substitutions are allowed. The first person to have both pokemon unable to battle loses. Clear?" Brock announced.

Leaf nodded in anticipation. Brock enlarged his first pokeball and threw it. It bounced off the ground and released what looked like a rock with two arms and a face. Leaf threw her own pokeball and Rattata appeared.

"Geodude!" It hollered it's name.

"You can have the first move," Brock said.

"Rattata, use tail whip!"

Rattata leaped forward and hit the geodude in the head with its tail. It didn't do any damage, but it lowered the rock pokemon's defense. Brock instructed for his pokemon to use rock polish. Leaf watched as his pokemon began to glow, but nothing happened. Rattata used a quick focus energy, and squared off against the rock type pokemon. Brock waited patiently for Leaf to make her next move, a smile on his face.

"Rattata, use tackle!" She called.

Her small rat pokemon ran forward and lunged at the rock pokemon. Geodude, with amazing speed, dodged the move and recoiled with a punch. Rattata flew backwards and hit one of the jutted rock. It shakily got to its paws, bruises covering its body. Leaf bit her lip, wondering if her pokemon could take much more.

"Quick attack!" She yelled.

Lets see him dodge that She thought smugly. Rattata slammed into Geodude, causing the pokemon to tumble backwards. While the rock pokemon was recovering, Leaf called for her pokemon to use bite. Rattata latched onto the geodude's arm with his teeth. The pokemon roared in pain and shook his arm widely, but Rattata held on.

"Rollout!" Brock said calmly.

His geodude rolled into a ball and rolled forward. Rattata, unable to hold on any longer, flew off its arm. Before he could jump away, the rock pokemon barreled into him. Rattata tumbled backwards, falling unconscious. Leaf returned her pokemon, worry seeping into her. She enlarged her next pokeball and threw it.

"Char! Charmander!" The fire lizard yelled.

Charmander squared off against the now motionless geodude. Charmander let out a spark of flames and narrowed his eyes.

"Rollout once more!"

Geodude curled into a ball and shot at Charmander. Charmander jumped out of the way and shot an ember at it. The flames seemed to do little to nothing to the spinning rock pokemon. It came back around, this time much faster. Charmander was only barely able to jump away.

"Charmander, jump on top of those rocks!" Leaf yelled.

Before Geodude could take another hit at him, Charmander climbed up one of the rocks jutting from the ground. He watched as geodude began to roll in a circle, gaining power and speed. Without warning, it slammed into the rock Charmander was standing on. The rock vibrated violently, Charmander teetering on top. Before it crashed to the ground, Charmander jumped to the next closest rock. Leaf knew if she didn't do something quick, the battle would be over.

"Charmander, use smokescreen at the base of the rock!" Leaf desperately called.

Charmander aimed at smokescreen at the base of the rocks, and coated the ground and air with a thick smoke. Charmander jumped off the rock and onto a different one to avoid the smoke clogging the air. There was a cry of surprise and a loud thump. The geodude began to violently cough as the smoke filled it's lungs.

"Use ember!"

Charmander shot a ember into the smoke at where he heard the pokemon hacking. The geodude cried out in pain and when the smoke cleared, lay unconscious. Brock returned his pokemon, and sent out his last pokemon. This pokemon was huge, standing at least 25 feet tall. Its body was made up of large boulders, that got smaller as it went down. It strongly resembled a snake, with no arms or legs. The pokemon let out a tremendous roar, that caused Charmander to take a tentative step backwards.

"Onix, use rock throw!"

Onix's tail wrapped around a large rock and hurled it at Charmander. Charmander jumped out of the way before the rock could crush him. He seemed to snap out of his trance and shot a series of embers at the giant rock snake. Onix roared as the embers seared his rock hard body, but appeared relatively unharmed. Brock smiled, confidence written all over her face.

"Fire types are weak against my rock types. Its going to take a lot more than a few embers to take down my onix," He called out across the room.

"Smokescreen!" Leaf yelled, trying her best to ignore him.

Charmander opened his mouth and send out of cloud of thick smoke. The onix began to cough loudly, as Charmander used his growl attack to lower its attack. The small lizard pokemon then ran at the massive rock pokemon with his claw raised. He began to repeatedly scratch Onix, at Leaf's command.

"Onix use harden!" Brock instructed.

Onix steeled his body and as Charmander's claws hit the now steely rock surface his cried out in pain. Charmander held his throbbing hand for a moment, before running away from the giant. The smoke had begun to clear, and Onix only looked pissed off.

"Tackle,"

Onix lurched forward and slammed into Charmander. Charmander went flew, a boulder breaking his fall. He slumped to the ground, breathing heavily as he pushed himself back up. Leaf looked from her exhausted pokemon to the battle ready onix. At her command, Charmander fired another ember. Onix took the attack and then hurled another rock at Charmander. He hit the floor as the rock sailed over his head and shattered against the boulder he had been leaning against moments ago.

"Rock tomb!" Brock called out.

Onix began to glow white and several large rocks formed around its head. With a roar, the rocks shot at Charmander. Alarmed, Charmander managed to the dodge the first rock, but it was unable to evade the second one. Charmander tumbled his small body rolling backwards, almost to Leaf's feet. Despite the enormous amount of damage it had just taken, the pokemon struggled to push itself to its feet. He stood unsteadily on his feet, his legs barely able to hold him up. Charmander's eyes suddenly widened, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Charmander," Leaf murmured, scooping up her starter in her arms.

"You battled well, and your charmander is strong, but you will need to come up with a more solid strategy if you wish to defeat me," Brock advised her.

Leaf nodded numbly, her eyes staring intently at the small orange body in her arms. Red put a hand on her shoulder, and nodded at her. She bit her lip, holding back tears. She had been so confident coming in here, but now…

"Once your pokemon are rested, I would also like to challenge you," Red said.

"Very well, return around 5 and we will have our battle," Brock replied.

Red rested his hand on the upper part of Leaf's back, and lead her to the door. Usually, Leaf would have been ecstatic at Red's touch, but now all she could think of was the way her pokemon were completely destroyed in that battle. Red sensed her gloomy mood, and longed to comfort his friend, but he couldn't find the words. Leaf pulled her pokeball from her belt and returned her pokemon. The two walked back to the pokemon center in uneasy silence.

"Just train, you'll get it next time," Red assured her, but she stayed silent.

Once in the pokemon center, Leaf handed Nurse joy her pokemon and sat down in a plush chair to wait. Red walked over to her, but thought better of it and walked away. He stopped at the automatic door and turned back to her.

"Be at the gym at 5," And with that he walked out.

Leaf sat there, pondering her lose. Was it because of the type disadvantages, or because of her poor training? It was stupid to send Charmander in for a physical attack when rock pokemon were known to have strong defenses. She should have continued to use fire attacks until the pokemon was tired, or sustained a burn. Leaf leaned her forehead against her palms and cursed herself.

"Leaf Greene?" A voice called.

Leaf looked up and saw Nurse Joy standing behind the counter with a tray of pokeball. Leaf jumped up and grabbed her pokeballs from the tray. She quickly thanked her, and hurried out the doors. If she was going to rematch Brock, there was no way she was going to lose a second time. She was going to train, and she was going to win. Leaf finally arrived at her destination. A shiver ran down her spine as she gazed at the forest. The last time she went in there, she almost didn't make it out. But this was no time to be afraid, she was going to have to suck it up. This was the best place to train her pokemon, and they deserved nothing but the best.

She walked into the forest, her head held high. The sound of buzzing in the distance caused her heart to race, but she shoved down the fear and continued to walk. Once she reached a clearing she stopped and threw her three pokeballs. Charmander, Rattata and Weedle all looked at her curiously. Leaf took a deep breath and spoke to her pokemon.

"I want to apologize for not being the best trainer, and winning that battle. But I want to win the next one, and I need your help to win it. We were so close to winning I could taste it, and I intend on having it. I'm going to ask you to push yourselves, to become stronger. Are you with me?"

Her pokemon let out cries of approval, and they began their training. As Leaf had promised, the training was indeed hard and her pokemon proved that they wanted to win as much as she did. Caught up in the training, Leaf almost didn't notice the time until it was too late. She glanced down at watch, and the time read 4:50. She hurriedly returned her pokemon and began to jog out of the forest. Something yellow shoot through the bushes to her left, causing her to stop. She grabbed her pokeball, ready to fight. If it was a beedrill, she was taking it down. After nothing happened, Leaf turned and continued her run.

She got to the gym five minutes late. Her jog slowed to a walk as the huge doors got closer. Taking a deep breath, she opened them and saw Brock and Red facing each other. Standing on Red's side was his nidoran, while Brock had sent out geodude. Neither of them looked very beaten up, so Leaf hoped the battle had just started. She took her seat, and watched the battle unfold.

"Nidoran, use double-kick!" Red instructed.

The small purple pokemon charged forward and struck the geodude twice with his foot. The geodude cried in pain, but did not back down. With instruction from Brock, Geodude tackled Nidoran, pinning him on his back. Nidoran used his horn to shove Geodude off him, and jumped back to his feet. Geodude, regained it balance, but now it's face had a greenish tint to it. Red smiled.

"Nidoran, avoid Geodude. Let the poison finish it off," Red called.

Obeying his trainer, Nidoran jumped onto one of the rocks, and then began to hop across them until he was as far away from Geodude as possible. Brock gritted his teeth, knowing Geodude wouldn't be able to last very long out there. He raised his pokeball and returned Geodude. Then he sent out Onix. Like before, the giant snake loomed above his prey, his rock tail swishes back and forth. Nidoran looked up at the pokemon in surprise, but quickly covered that emotion with determination. Onix let out a horrible roar, and charged at Nidoran. Taken by surprise, Nidoran was sent flying into the wall.

The small purple pokemon slid down the wall, its body covered in newly forming bruises, and pushed itself to its feet. It eyed Onix, before charged at him. He hit him with a quick double-kick, and jumped away before Onix could retaliate.

"Leer!" Red yelled.

Nidoran narrowed his eyes, causing Onix's defense to lower. Instead of attack back though, Onix stood in place.

"Bide," Brock instructed.

Onix held completely still, his body beginning to glow with a light red aura. Nidoran watched for a moment, expecting an attack to come, but nothing did.

"Focus energy, than poison sting!"

Nidoran was briefly surrounded by a light white energy, before he charged forward and struck Onix with his horn. Quick as a flash, Onix's energy began to glow brighter and he whipped Nidoran away with his tail. Nidoran sailed through the air and struck a rock. He fell to the ground unconscious. Red returned his pokemon, and pondered for a moment. As much as he wanted to use his newly evolved pokemon, he knew it wouldn't be a wise choice. So he released the only other pokemon he had.

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur cried, his body tensed.

"Kick it off with a razor leaf,"

Leaves shoot out of Bulbasaur's back, striking Onix. The pokemon cried out in pain as the super effective move struck him. The rock pokemon struggled to stay upright, but in the end it stood tall. It began to glow white, and large stones formed around its head. With a flash of his eyes, the stones were hurled at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur's vine shot out and deflected each of the boulders. They then lashed out at Onix, whipping him until the giant fell. Brock returned his pokemon, and sent out geodude.

"Stay strong Geodude! Use rollout," Brock commanded.

The geodude curled into a ball and slammed into Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur took a step backwards, but regained his next time Geodude came around, Bulbasaur tried to stop it with his vines. Geodude simply maneuvered out of the way and struck bulbasaur once more. Bulbasaur was panting heavily, but he was far from done.

"Bulbasaur, just keep away from it. The poison will wear it down," Red called out.

Bulbasaur nimbly dodged the next attack, and barely got away from the one after that. Remembering Leaf's battle from earlier, he pulled himself up on one of the boulders. Geodude rammed into the boulder, making it teeter unsteadily. Bulbasaur rocked back and forth on it, barely jumping to an neighboring boulder before his came crashing down. Bulbasaur picked up with shards of rock with his vines, and began to hurl them at Geodude. Most of them simply bounced off the rolling rock, or shattered into pieces, but one tripped up Geodude. Before Geodude could recover from its fall, it was overcome with Bulbasaur's razor leaf attack. It lay on the ground unconscious. Brock returned his pokemon and smiled at Red. Warmth filled Red as he accepted his very first badge from Brock. Leaf clapped loudly for her friend, part of her overjoyed by his victory, and part of her bitter by her own loss.

"Great battle Red!" She high-fived him.

He thanked her with a smile. She then turned her attention to Brock.

"Can I rematch you tomorrow?" She asked.

Brock looked surprised, "You're already ready?"

She nodded, a smile curling the edges of her lips.

"I'll see you here at 9:00 sharp then,"

Red and Leaf walked out of the gym, the two of them talking about the battle. Leaf did most of the talking, while Red accepted her compliments. Watching Red had given her an idea though, and she planned to use it to win. Despite acting so cheery, Red could see through Leaf's wall of emotions.

"Hey, cheer up. You'll get it tomorrow," He told her.

Leaf nodded in agreement, knowing that she would indeed win.

**I know, not the best ending, but oh well. Thanks to everyone that reviews, favorites, or follows my story, I really appreciate it. I hope the battle scenes turned out pretty well, I tried to be realistic about it. Next chapter we are obviously going to get some even more action from Leaf so stay tuned! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"You ready?" Brock asked, his face shining with excitement.

Leaf nodded, her body tensing up. The referee was reciting words, but Leaf hardly heard them over the adrenaline pumping in her ears. Red watched her silently from the stands, wondering what kind of battle plan she had this time. Leaf's grip tightened on her pokeball as Brock sent out his first Pokémon. Geodude cried its name, and looked at her with unwavering confidence. Even though the Pokémon had caused Leaf a lot of trouble her last match, she was going to make sure it didn't this time.

"Let's go Weedle!"

The small bug pokemon emerged, looking dwarfed next to the opposing Pokémon. Red was shocked. Didn't Leaf know the disadvantage a bug type would have against a rock type? He prayed she had some sort of strategy up her sleeve.

"You can have the first move," Brock nodded at her.

Without wasting a second, Leaf commanded, "Start us off strong with a string shot!"

Obeying his trainer, Weedle shot of a series of sticky strings at geodude. The rocks Pokémon struggled to free itself from their web as Weedle charged forward, its stinger poised.

"Poison sting!" Leaf yelled.

Weedle stabbed its stinger into geodude, causing it to yelp in pain. Because it was a rock type, the poison type move did little to hurt it, but that wasn't what Leaf was aiming for. Suddenly, geodude tensed up and pulsed purple for a moment. Weedle retreated as the geodude broke through the remaining strings, looking very unhappy. Leaf had just what she wanted now. Even though geodude had the type advantage, the poison would hopefully wear out geodude enough for weedle to finish it off.

"Use rock polish, then rock throw!" Brock called.

Geodude did as instructed, glowing white for a moment, and then hurling a rock at weedle. Unable to dodge in time, Weedle was thrown backwards by the rock. Wounded, weedle got back up. It let out a battle cry and shot another string shot at geodude. Geodude dodged the attack, and then at brocks command, curled into a ball.

"String shot the ground around it, and climb up a rock!" Leaf instructed.

Weedle did as told, slowly retreating as it short web after web at the rolling Pokémon. It did seem to slow it up, but it was far from stopping. Weedle was up the protruding rocks just before geodude smashed into to it. It shook the whole rock, but the rock held. Leaf smiled, because she knew while the geodude grew weaker, her Pokémon could camp out from the boulder and shoot string shots at it. Brock must have figured that out too, because he called for his Pokémon to stop using rollout. Geodude uncurled itself, looking considerably more tired and weaker.

"Rock polish, and tackle!" Brock said.

Geodude slammed into Weedle so fast that Weedle didn't even have time to react. He pushed himself up, this time using a lot more effort. At Leaf's word, he fired another set of string shots at Geodude. Geodude was about to dodged when it once again pulsed purple. The strings covered it, while it struggled against it.

"Finish it off with a tackle!"

Weedle tackled Geodude. This time the boulder Pokémon did not get up. Brock scowled as he returned his first Pokémon, but Leaf knew this battle was far from over. In a flash of red light, the giant snake Pokémon appeared. Weedle craned his neck to get a good look at the onix, its face paling as it realized just how big this pokemon was.

"Weedle, string shot!" Leaf called out.

Weedle used string shot, but it looked as though the attack did little to slow the giant up. Without waiting for instructions, Weedle charged forward and struck Onix with its stinger. Onix let out a grunt, but it did not pulse purple like geodude. Realizing this, Weedle was about to strike it with another poison sting when Onix slammed its tail into him. Weedle flew backwards and smacked into a rock. It slid off the rock, and lay unconscious on the floor. Leaf returned her Pokémon, and grabbed her next.

"Show them what you got Charmander!" Leaf shouted, throwing her pokeball.

Charmander appeared, proclaiming his name loudly. He looked up at the onix, and growled. Brock smiled, admiring the small Pokémon's confidence.

"Onix start us off strong with a tackle!" Brock called out.

The Pokémon charged toward Charmander, but Charmander simply jumped to the side and sent a fiery storm of embers at the giant snake Pokémon. Onix cried out in pain and lashed out at Charmander with its tail. Charmander jumped backwards just before the tail could made contact with him.

"Leer and then use a quick scratch," Leaf commanded.

Charmander shot Onix a glare, and while it was distracted and its defense down, he slashed his claws against the onix's rock hard body. Before it could retaliate, Charmander jumped back to safety, his blue eyes narrowed in concentration. Brock called out a command and Onix hurled a rock at Charmander. Charmander tried to avoid it, but the rock chipped his shoulder. Charmander cried out in surprise and pain while he clutched his injured shoulder. Worry crossed Leaf's face.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Charmander nodded briskly, and pulled his paw away from it. The flames on his tail began to burn even brighter and Charmander tensed up.

"Rage!" Brock instructed.

"Dodge it and counter with another ember!" Leaf countered.

Charmander rolled out of the way of the charging rock Pokémon and bombarded it with a series of embers. Onix cried out in pain as it retreated, its breath rugged and uneven as it glowered down at Charmander. At its trainer's command, it hurled a boulder at Charmander. Charmander jumped out of the way and used ember in return, though Onix managed to dodge the attack.

"Tackle,"

Onix, once more charged towards Charmander. Charmander smirked, thinking the trainer would have learned. He jumped off the to side, but was meet with Onix's tail. It slammed him into a boulder with a loud crash. Leaf cringed, praying her Pokémon was okay. Charmander shook the dust from his face and pushed himself up.

"Scratch one more time!" Leaf called out.

Charmander charged forward, all fear erased. His claw began to glow white, and then it took on a metallic glow. He slashed at onix with tremendous force, and to Leaf's surprise, the giant snake pokemon fell. When the dust cleared, Charmander stood looking down at Onix. Leaf let out a squeal of delight and ran out onto the battlefield. The referee's announcements were background noise as she embraced her small fire Pokémon. She couldn't help but giggle as giddiness filled her. She glanced up at Brock, her cheeks flushing red when she realized just how ridiculous she must look.

"That was a very powerful metal claw your charmander used," Brock praised her.

So that's what had happened to Charmander's scratch. She smiled with pride at her starter Pokémon.

"Thank you, I really learned a lot from these battles," Leaf responded.

"Here, you earned this," He said handing her her very first badge.

Leaf took it tenderly, and examined it with great care. It was in the shape of a rock and it gleamed with a shine. Leaf pulled out her empty badge case and put the badge inside smiling.

"Good luck to you and Red on the rest of your journey," Brock nodded towards Red and smiled at Leaf.

"Thank you," She returned the smile and meet Red at the door.

He watched her, the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips. He held the door open for her, sighing as she rushed forward and skipped down the steps. The sun peeked out from behind the white clouds lazily drifting by in the sky. The pidgey's were chirping happily from rooftops and the city was alive. Leaf did a little twirl at the bottom of the steps, but she stumbled. Luckily, she caught herself before she actually fell, but a blush crept into her cheeks. Leaf smiled sheepishly up at Red as he met her at the bottom of the steps.

"To Mt. Moon now?" She asked.

Red nodded, slightly impressed Leaf had time to look at the path he had marked out for them to take.

"Good. Did you know clefairy live there? I have been wanting to catch a clefairy since I first saw one of TV. They are so cute!" Leaf declared.

Red listened to her ramble about the Pokémon while they walked to the pokemon center. Leaf handed her Pokémon over to nurse joy and waited patiently for them to be returned. Once her pokeballs were securely attached to her belt, they left the center. As they left town, Red glanced uneasily at the Pewter City Museum. Without thinking, he lifted his hand up and touched the still tender split in his lip.

"Is that where you got it?" Leaf asked, indicating to his the stone colored building he was staring at.

"Uh… yeah," He nodded, pulling his finger away and putting his head down.

Leaf got the message that he didn't want to talk and didn't question him further. They walked in silence, the only noise being the ground shifting beneath their feet. Leaf spotted the sign indicating that they had left town and nodded at it. Red's eyes found the sign, but he said nothing. Leaf sighed as he remained silent. He never talked.

As they walked, Leaf noticed the grass began to grow thinner, and the trees became less common. Large rocks dotted the terrain, though Leaf wasn't sure if they were really rocks, or geodudes curled into balls. Mt. Moon loomed ahead of them, its peak covered by the clouds above. Leaf was marveling up at the view when Red jabbed his in the side with his elbow. She rubbed her side unhappily and turned to Red, who nodded in front of them.

Close to the base of the mountain was a makeshift stand. Leaf could barely make out the outline of two men sitting behind the smalls stand. Leaf shrugged at Red, oblivious to his suspicion about the place.

There were two men at the stand, and they looked polar opposite of each other. The man to the left was tall and built. He had buzz cut with brown hair and a scowl on his lips. A nasty looking scar ran down from his eyebrow to his jaw. His dark eyes were narrowed at them. He wore a tank top, showing off his incredibly large and bulging muscles. The man standing next to him wore big glasses that reflected the sun, making it impossible to see his eyes. His hair was a mess of blue and his mouth was curved into a sly smile. He clutched a clipboard and he wore a large white lab coat.

"Hello there travelers! I'm here from the official Pokémon league conducting a census. We will need to know where you are from, how old you are, names, and all that good stuff. You can go first," The man in the lab coat said nodding at the Leaf.

Before he could talk again, Red interrupted him, "Why are you conducting a census in front of Mt. Moon?"

"Because with a tight budget, we are debating on whether or not we have enough money to continue to run the Pokémon center, or if we need to shut it down," He explained with a smile.

Something was off about this, Red could sense it, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. The man with the buzzcut met Red's eyes when he turned to look at him. A chill traveled down Red's spine, but he pretended as though nothing was wrong. He returned his attention to Leaf, who was answering questions Lab Coat asked.

"Where are you from dear?" He asked.

Leaf prickled at the term of endearment, "Uh, Pallet Town."

Suddenly Buzzcut was very interested. Red glanced at him, fear prickling inside his gut. If Leaf noticed the shift in mood, she didn't show it.

"Pallet Town? You two are the first travelers we've seen from there. Are there any other trainers coming from around that area?" Labcoat asked

"We only know of one more boy who is our age," Leaf replied.

"And what would your age be?"

"13, almost 14," Leaf answered uneasily.

Buzzcut stepped forward and propped his elbows on the stand, his face inches away from Red's. Red stepped back as Buzzcut examined him. Buzzcut's eyes spotted his tennis shoes and a look of excitement came over him. Without warning, his fist shoot out and slammed into Red's cheek. There was a crack and Red was laying on the ground, his head swimming.

"What the hell!" Leaf screamed.

Red expected her to rush to his aid, but to his surprise she sent out her rattata. The small purple rodent bared it's over grown teeth at the two men. They smirked and stepped out from behind their stand. Buzzcut looked even more massive than before, but that it didn't intimidate Leaf in the least.

"It's him. Soon we'll be swimming in money," Buzzcut growled.

Fear paralyzed Red where he lay. They had found him. Team Rocket had really been searching for him! Leaf's shouts shook him from his thoughts. Labcoat had sent out an oddish and Buzzcut had sent out an elekid. Leaf reached for a second pokeball, but Red beat her to it.

"Nidoran!" The small purple Pokémon declared.

Leaf glanced back in surprise at Red, thinking he had been knocked out. He smiled back at her, propping himself up on his elbows as he slowly began to push himself up. His head hurt like hell, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins seemed to take away some of the pain. Trying to forget about his bruised and broken face, Red turned his attention back to the thugs.

"Nidoran, peck on Oddish," Red yelled.

"Rattata use tackle!' Leaf called a moment later.

Both Pokémon surged forward and caught their foe by surprise. Elekid seemed to take Rattata's attack much better than Oddish did though. Oddish tumbled backwards into the stand and struggled to get back up. Labcoat scolded his Pokémon, and then commanded it to use acid. The oddish opened its mouth a shot a blast of violet at Nidoran, but the attack did little damage. Meanwhile, Elekid was sending a series of punches at Rattata, which Rattata gracefully dodged. It was easily to tell that Buzzcut was starting to get frustrated about being bested in battle by a 13 year old.

"Elekid, fire up a thundershock," He growled.

Elekid sent a strong blast of electricity at Rattata, this time hitting its mark. Rattata howled in pain, but quickly retaliated with a quick attack. Elekid was beginning to lose its patience, and sent out another blast of electricity. This time Rattata dodged it with ease. Nearby, Oddish was attempting to bring Nidoran down with an absorb attack, but Nidoran attacked with swift set of fury attacks. Oddish wasn't looking very good, it was pushing itself back up when Nidoran stuck it with another peck attack. The little grass pokemon couldn't take the attack and passed out. Labcoat cursed under his breath, his cocky grin replaced by a scowl as he sent out his next pokemon.

"Let's go Paras!" He tossed his pokeball out.

An orange bug Pokémon emerged with two mushrooms growing from its back. It clicked its small white pincers. A burst of electricity caught Red's attention, and he saw Elekid chasing Rattata around, its arm bursting with electricity. Rattata seemed unharmed, but Elekid was growing more tired with every moment.

"Cut," Labcoat growled.

Paras slashed its claws against Nidoran, causing him to cry out in pain. While the bug Pokémon was so close, Red took advantage of it by commanding Nidoran to use peck. The attack hit, sending Paras sprawling. Red was about to command another attack when a flash of electricity struck Nidoran. He yelped and staggered, before collapsing to the ground. Red returned his Pokémon silently and enlarged his next.

"Let's go Pidgeotto!" Red cried.

"Pidgeotto!" It cried in response.

Red glanced over at Leaf, who was watching her Pokémon continue to evade Elekid. They both knew this charade could not go on forever though, and the loser of the battle could have dire consequences.

"Leaf, if we want to win, we have to work as a team," Red said.

Leaf glanced over at him and nodded. She then returned her attention to Rattata and Elekid

"Pidgeotto, use sand-attack,"

Pidgeotto dove down and kicked up a large cloud of sand, right into the opposing pokemon's faces. They coughed and stumbled in the cloud, but Rattata and Pidgeotto remained unaffected. Rattata charged in towards the sound of Elekid with a tackle, while Pidgeotto dove towards Paras. Each Pokémon collided with the opposing one and sent them tumbling back to their trainer unconscious. Buzzcut looked down at his fainted Elekid incredulously, while Labcoat began to nervously shake, though Red did not know why. They both returned their Pokémon before taking a nervous step back. Even Buzzcut had lost his tough guy demeanor and looked a bit afraid.

"You'll pay for this kid. Mark my word!" And with that, they were gone.

Leaf and Red watched them go in silence, their heavy breathing the only sound to break it. Leaf glanced over at Red, and she burst out laughing. He didn't know why, but he started joining her. Leaf doubled over, and was soon laughing so hard tears fell from her eyes. Her soft brown eyes met Red's dark brown ones.

"We could have been kidnapped," She laughed softly, the funniness seeming to wear off the situation.

"Yeah," He chuckled in agreement, figuring the laughter was from a build up of nervous energy.

"Are you okay?" There was no amusement in her voice anymore, just plain concern.

She gently reached up and touched his bruised cheek, causing him to wince in pain. Leaf pulled her hand away at once, muttering her apologizes.

"No, my face kills. Why does everybody keep punching me?" He moaned.

Leaf chuckled, "They must be jealous of it."

He gave her a side-ways smirk, "That's probably it."

"There's a Pokémon center up ahead that you can be treated at," She said.

Red nodded and they began to walk towards the direction of the Pokémon center. He figured it was quicker to go to the one Leaf had spoken of then to turn back around and go back to Pewter City. Soon the long walk began to become numbing. The terrain was dirt dry and the sun was beating on them from above. Along with the constant throb of pain in his face, Red had to add thirst to his problems.

Leaf stopped a moment to rummage through her bag. She pulled out two cool, beautiful water bottles, their seals unbroken. She tossed one to Red, who greedily began to gulp down the water. He saved about half of it though, knowing he would want it for later. Leaf rested on a flat rock trying to catch her breathe. She glanced up at Red, who now held the water bottle up against his face.

"Ya know, they seemed like they knew you," Leaf huffed.

Red prickled and looked over at her.

"I mean, they just got really excited about you, like they were looking for you. Do you know who they were?" Leaf questioned.

Red fumbled for words as he struggled to keep his cool demeanor, "I've never seen them before. They must have been looking for somebody else that looked like me."

He ended his explanation with a shrug, which seemed to convince Leaf. He sighed in relief while she wasn't looking and took another swig of water. Red returned to his feet and continued walking, Leaf following in silence.

"Oh my! Let me get you something right away!" Nurse Joy scurried off from behind her desk.

She returned a moment later with an ice pack and a couple of pills. He downed the pills and pressed the cool pack up against his face. Nurse Joy talked to him about how he should treat his bruise, but he wasn't really listening. He had something else on his mind. Leaf talked to Nurse Joy about a room, and soon enough she had a key jangling in her hand. Red followed her to their room in silence.

After 30 minutes, they were finally ready to go to sleep. Leaf's hair was wet from the shower she had insisted on taking. Dark circles had appeared under her heavy eyes. She yawned, stretching her arms, and crawled under the covers. Red took the bed underneath her, and waited. He waited until he could hear her soft snores, and then he waited a little more. Every muscle in his body protested it, but Red climbed out of bed.

Grabbing his pokeball belt, he fasted it to his waist. He didn't want to do this by any means, but he knew he had to. Snatching his hat off the desk, Red got one last look at Leaf. Her mouth was slightly opened and her face no longer so tired. She looked so peaceful sleeping compared to the adventurous person she was while she was awake. Red turned and opened the window, letting the cool breeze blew against him. With a deep breathe, he climbed out the window and into the darkness.

**Where is Red off to? Any guesses? Wow, there was a lot of battling in that chapter, but I hope it kept it pretty interesting. So I made a minor change back in the other chapters with their age. I just felt that 10 was a little too young to be out exploring the world, even though that is how old the characters in the games are. I have an important question, and so please leave me a response. Do you think Red and Leaf should catch Pokémon from the other regions? I've been debating this a lot, especially since it is hard to have Red, Leaf, and Blue all catching different Pokémon, but all having a variety of Pokémon and a well balanced team. So please leave your opinion in a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Whew, this chapter took forever to write. I know its a little long, so sorry about that, I just didn't now exactly where to end it. So enough with me talking, here it is!**

**Chapter 8**

The moon was a large, full orb hanging in the sky, surrounded by small twinkling diamonds. The hot air that had clung to him earlier was now replaced by a cool, incessant breeze. It seemed as though wherever Red looked, the darkness was playing tricks on his eyes. He glanced back at the Pokemon center, its bright light almost blinding in the darkness. Red prayed Leaf didn't wake up and find him gone, but she usually slept like a rock. His slow paced walked soon turned into a jog.

He kept his eyes up, alert for any danger hiding in the shadows. His hand fell to the poke ball clipped to his belt. Enlarging it, he released his pidgeotto. The Pokemon cooed and flew above Red.

"Keep your eyes alert. We'll be there in about 15 minutes if we hurry. I just didn't want anybody trying to ambush us," Red informed his Pokemon.

He was worried about the two thugs from team rocket lurking around, but he knew he could defeat them again if he needed too. His legs began to burn from the running, but he welcomed the exercise. Taking deep breathes, Red slowed his pace and began to look. He couldn't remember the exact location, but it was in this area. Clicking on his flashlight, he began to look.

"Do you see anything?" Red asked his Pokemon.

The bird Pokemon shook it's head no. Red scowled, his stomach clenching in his chest as every minute passed with no luck. With a groan, he gave up searching as he sat down on a rock. He rubbed his temples, wondering how they had found him. They must have taken down the stand, otherwise he would have found it by now. Red was hoping that the stand would still be there and have information regarding to how they found him. A rustling noise to his right caught his attention. He lifted his head and spotted a flash of color from behind a couple of rocks.

"Who's there?" Red demanded, standing up and slowly inching his hand towards his belt.

There was a rustling noise, and then he saw a figure walking out from behind the bushes.

"Pikachu?" He asked surprised as the small electric mouse approached him.

"Chu!" The Pokemon gave him a sly smile.

"What are you doing out here?"

It's ears folded back and an embarrassed look came over its face, it's face illuminated by his flash light.

"Pika, pikachu," it replied shyly.

"You've been following me?" He wasn't really sure how he knew what the little Pokemon was trying to say.

It shook it head yes, it's red cheeks growing even redder. Red cocked his head to the side in wonder, while he observed it. It was a long ways from Viridian Forest. After returning his pidgeotto, Red sat down on a rock near Pikachu. Pikachu hesitated, but crawled over and sat down next to Red. They sat there for a moment before Red spoke.

"You want to know why I'm out here?" His voice had lost its energy.

"Pika?"

"I was looking for somebody too. Today me and Leaf were walking through here, when we were stopped by these two weird lookin' dudes. One was huge, and the other looked like a nerd. Leaf didn't really seem to think anything was too off about the guys, but I knew better. You see, I'm being hunted. Some bad people want me really bad. Anyways, the nerdy guy kept asking Leaf weird questions. She told him she lived in pallet town and he got really excited, and asked our ages. Leaf told them thirteen and then the big guy did something really weird," Red paused his voice laced with emotion.

"He took a look at my shoes and punched me in the face. It hurt like hell, but I hardly felt it. The only thing I could think was that they found me. And as I lay on the ground, Leaf stepped forward and protected me. I think she put some sense back in me because I sent my Pokemon out to help her defend me. After we drove them off, we went to the Pokemon center and I haven't told Leaf but I can't stop thinking about them. Team Rocket already found me, and soon they'll find my family. I know a secret that they're willing to do anything to get, including torture and murder. What if they kill my mom? What if they kidnap us and torture Leaf?" His voice cracked.

He leaned his forehead against his palms, tears spilling down his cheeks. His body shook, all of emotions he had hidden away were suddenly pouring out. Sniffing, Red looked up at the small yellow Pokemon.

"I try so hard to be brave, but really I'm just a big coward. Pikachu, I'm scared. I'm so scared. I can't be scared though, I have to be strong, but all I want is to be normal. I want to travel the region with my friends without a care in the world. That'll never happen though," he clenched his hands into fists and then turned to Pikachu, "And I'm pouring my heart out to you some reason. You probably can't even understand me."

Pikachu's ear twitched as he watched Red with his head cocked to the side. After a moment, he crawled over and rubbed against Red's arm. He let out a half-sob half-laugh in response. Red scratched behind Pikachu's ear, which he seemed to like, and he found his pounding heart was beginning to slow. They sat there for a while in a comfortable silence before Red stood up. Pikachu looked up at him curiously.

"I have to go back before Leaf wakes up," he explained.

Red smiled at the wild Pokemon, not quite knowing what to say to the pikachu he had just poured his heart out to, but luckily he was saved from the awkward situation. Pikachu jumped down next to him and began to walk in front of him towards the Pokemon center. Red followed.

The curtain silently rippled at the occasional gust of wind from either side of the window frame. Red approached the window quietly, and peeked his head inside. There wasn't much to be seen, but he could make out a lump on Leaf's bed, and he could hear the soft rhythm of her breathing. Luckily, there room was on ground level so it was too difficult to climb back through the window, especially for Pikachu who didn't climb so much as jump through it. After locking the window, Red crawled underneath his warm, welcoming covers, only then realizing just how exhausted he was. Pikachu jumped up on the bed with him, and curled up at the foot of the bed before falling soundly asleep a few minutes later.

Red woke to the sound of his name whispered and hands shaking his shoulders urgently. He moaned, and opened one eye to reveal a very worried looking Leaf. Groggily he began to push himself up, and was about to throw the covers off of himself when Leaf stopped him. He looked at her curiously, and in response she put one finger to her mouth and then pointed to the bundle of yellow fur curled up at his feet. He had forgotten about Pikachu and really hadn't come up with a good excuse as to how he had gotten him.

"There's a pikachu sleeping on your bed! I checked the window, and it was locked. I have no idea how it got in," Leaf whispered.

"It's okay Leaf, I let him in," Red said in response, also keeping his voice down so he wouldn't wake the sleeping Pokemon.

Leaf regarded him quizzically, as though she couldn't decided on whether or not he was kidding, and then asked, "Why was he at our window?"

"The little guy has been following us I guess. I think he wants to travel with me," The lies rolled off of Red's tongue smoothly.

Her eyes flickered from his, and then back to the pikachu, this time with excitement. Red sighed, remembering the one thing that Leaf had in common with every other girl in the world. She was a sucker for cute Pokemon, and Pikachu was probably on the top of her list. Even though Leaf had a strong urge to pet him, Leaf refrained from touching Pikachu and instead gushed to Red how absolutely cute Pikachu was, especially sleeping. Figuring it couldn't hurt to sleep a little longer after his long night, Red closed his eyes again and drifted off.

This time he was not woken as gently as before, not gently at all really. Leaf had snatched her pillow off her own bed smacked it right into Red's face. He moaned and pulled his own pillow over his head as he rolled onto his side and muttered for five more minutes. His request was denied with another swing of Leaf's pillow.

"Okay! Okay, I'm up!" Red surrendered throwing his pillow off his head and towards the direction of Leaf.

Red grumbled as he rolled back over to find that the edge of the bed was a lot closer than he thought. He fell off the side of his bed with a thump, taking his covers and Pikachu with him. Pikachu let out a startled cry as its sleep was abruptly disrupted and let out a blast of electricity, zapping Red and frying the blankets. Now Red was really awake. After realizing that there wasn't any actual danger near by and that he had just electrocuted Red, Pikachu rushed to his side in horror. Leaf stood in shock for a moment before she burst into laughter at the sight of Red's now crazy static hair. He shot Leaf a glare as he began to pat down his hair.

While Red was busy reassuring Pikachu that he really was fine, Leaf began to repack her bag. Before long, Leaf was sitting on the bed waiting as Red rushed around the room trying to get ready. Pikachu had almost immediately warmed up to Leaf, and now sat on her lap as she petted his head. Finally, Red had finished getting ready to go, his hair patted down and covered by his hat. They checked out with Nurse Joy and welcomed the warm rays of sunshine that greeted them outside the door.

"So the Pokemon center is roughly the halfway point between Mt. Moon and Pewter City. We have a long day of walking ahead of us," Leaf explained.

Red nodded in response his eyes flickering to Pikachu walking beside him. He hadn't officially caught Pikachu, but it was pretty clear that Pikachu wanted to be his traveling companion. Before long the sun was directly overhead and it was too hot to continue to walk. They sought shelter under a slanted rocked jutting out while they ate lunch. Mt. Moon was clearly visible from where they stood, and it was huge. The mountain was nearly impossible to climb, so their only other option was to go through the cave. Leaf was prepared for this though, bring two flashlights, and if all else fails she could use Charmander as a light.

The rest of the day passed pretty dully, the highlight of it being when a stray geodude attacked them. Pikachu had easily knocked it out, despite the type disadvantage, and they continued on.

Just as the sun began to kiss the edge of the horizon, Red spotted the mouth of the cave leading to Mt Moon. Oddly, surrounding it were an abundance of trucks and a couple makeshift tents. Red, worrying it was Team Rocket, was wary to approach it at first, but Leaf was too stubborn to persuade to do anything else. The people swarming the base of mountain were either dressed as scientist, or construction workers. Trucks were driving in and out of the cave with loads of equipment and odd looking shapes in their trunks.

"Excuse me," A man approached them wearing a pair of dirty jeans and a once white t shirt. His eyes were barely visible from underneath the construction hat, but it was obvious he was looking at them.

"You aren't allowed to pass through here," He informed them frowning.

"What do you mean? We just want to pass through the cave," Leaf frowned back at the man.

"I'm sorry, but we are excavating the mountain for fossils of extinct Pokemon, and it is restricted for anybody but workers to enter. You'll have to come back once we are done," He shrugged as though it was no big deal.

Leaf's temper flared, "We have been walking all day long, and now you want me to turn around and walk back? You have no right to forbid us passage through the mountain."

"Look missy, you can turn around and head back to the Pokemon center, or I can call up Officer Jenny and have her take you to the police station. Its your choice," You jabbed his fat finger at Leaf.

Her eyes were narrowed into snake like slits, but she said nothing. He crossed his arms and watched them as they turned around and began to walk back the way they came. Once he was out of range, Leaf turned to Red.

"We are so sneaking into that cave," She growled to him.

"Agreed," He nodded to her.

"We'll keep walking, but once the sun sets we can head back and sneak through. It didn't look like they had anybody really guarding the cave, so as long as we stay quiet it shouldn't be too hard to sneak in."

"We need sleep," Red pointed out, his eyes already growing heavy from the lack of sleep he had the night before.

"Okay… so we can camp out and leave before the sun rises. We can take watches. I'll go first," Leaf suggested as they turned a corner.

Red nodded in agreement and began to unpack his sleeping bag. He crawled under the small, but warm cover as Pikachu curled up at his side. He gave the Pokemon a quick scratch, wondering if Pikachu was actually his Pokemon, or just a traveling companion. It hadn't really given him an indication that it wanted to be his Pokemon, but it had chosen to travel with him. Leaf had laid her sleeping bag next to his, but she was now sitting crossed legged on a flatter rock, with her charmander curled up by her side and provided a small amount of life. Red wondered if the Pokemon's tail flame would give them away if anybody came looking, but he figured they were far enough away they couldn't see it, and he wouldn't want to sit in the dark all night long either. As exhaustion overtook him, the last thing he saw was the back of Leaf's long, smooth brown hair.

Red was shaken awake from his restless sleep. Like most nights, it was plagued by nightmares that only got worse as the days went on. Part of him was relieved that it was over, but another part of him was too exhausted to want to do anything but sleep. He pushed himself up and began to rub his eyes. Leaf was already curling up inside her sleeping bag when Red walked over to the watch rock. After 10 minutes, Red had already began to nod off, so he began to pace restlessly around the rock. Soon enough, his legs began to tire and he sat back down. He had no idea how Lead had stayed awake and hadn't died of boredom.

Red debated on whether or not he could train his pokemon at this time, but decided against it. So he resorted to staring at the sky, which would have been a great idea if it had not hurt his neck so much. Figuring it couldn't hurt, Red layed down on the ground and stared up at the sky's twinkling stars. Before he knew it, Pikachu was nudging him awake.

Red bolted up, panic gripping him. To his relief, the moon was still out and the sun was still hidden. He must have dozed off. Pikachu regarded him curiously and then laid down at his feet. Red walked over to Leaf. Leaf looked completely at peace in her sleep, and Red wasn't anxious to wake her up. Luckily, Pikachu did it for him. Leaf groaned as she unzipped her sleeping bag and pushed herself up. Soon their makeshift camp was packed up, and Leaf, Pikachu, and Red were ready to go. Charmander wasn't the stealthiest option to travel with, so Leaf had returned him.

Like before, the mouth of Mt. Moon's cave was over run with tents, trucks, and large crates stacked on top of each other. It looked as though the flow of trucks coming from the cave had stopped, but they waited a moment to be sure. The camp was eerily quiet and dangerously dark besides a single lite tent. Red motioned for Leaf and Pikachu to follow him as he walked behind one of the large crates. He waited for a moment, listening, and when he heard nothing, he snuck towards another stack of crates. He continued this until he was near enough to the mouth of the cave to make a run for it, and to overhear the conversation of the people inside the lite tent.

"Those two boneheads posted out by Pewter claimed they actually saw the kid. Said they got beat up by him and a girl's pokemon. I bet they won't be working for us much longer, probably go missing and never return," Spoke a male voice that was obviously intoxicated.

"Ariana wasssn't very happy bout it neither. Put her in a bitchy mood taday. Got ma ass chewed more den a couple times," Roared back another intoxicated male.

Leaf stared at Red, but in the darkness it was hard to read her expression. He tilted his head towards the cave, and she nodded in response. Holding up three fingers, he counted down on them. When his third finger dropped, they bolted towards the mouth of the cave. Red could still hear the laughter of the drunk men echoing around him as he rushed farther and farther into the cave. Now surrounded by complete darkness, Red slowed down and began to wildly group for the edge of the cave. Leaf slammed into his back, and then two toppled to the ground.

"Sorry, couldn't see you there," Leaf apologized as she tried to push herself up in the darkness.

Red reached out and grabbed her hand, causing Leaf's checks to flush. He helped her to her feet and they were so close that Leaf could feel his breathe. She couldn't think as her heart hammered in her chest, every nerve in her body tensed. He lead her hand over to the damp cave wall, and it might have been Leaf's imagination, but it lingered there a moment longer than it needed to. For a crazy moment, Leaf considered Leaning forward and kissing him. But the moment passed and Red flicked on his flashlight, illuminating everything inside. Flustered, Leaf fumbled for her poke ball and released Charmander. The fire on its tail made the shadows look as though they were dancing as the group walked deeper into the cave. Before long, they came to a fork in the road.

"Which way?" Leaf asked, glancing back at Red.

He shone his flashlight down one tunnel, and then the next, but neither had anything visible at the end. Before he could make the decision, it was made for him. From the tunnel to their left, a voice began to echo around them.

"Clefairy, Clefairy, Clefairy," it chanted

Leaf's eyes widened in her excitement as she grinned uncontrollably and turned to face Red.

"Clefairy!" She declared.

Soon the chant of the Pokemon really began to amplify as it bounced off the walls and echoed around them. Instead of one, it sounded as though there were about 10 Clefairy. Neither Leaf nor Charmander seemed to notice as they prepared to battle. Red caught the first glimpse of the fairy Pokemon's pink fur in the light. It was jumping, almost bouncing, towards them, as it continued to chant. It looked so cheerful that it was almost creepy as it bounced towards them. Leaf was about to command Charmander to attack when she saw the pink figures jumping behind the leading Clefairy. Red reached for his own poke ball when he realized just how many Clefairy where actually coming towards them.

"Leaf," Red warned.

Leaf frowned and stood her ground, no doubt too stubborn and determined to not try and catch the pink Pokemon. The leading Clefairy seemed to read Leaf's mind because it suddenly stopped singing and jumping, and the rest of the Clefairy stopped as well. In unison they all opened their mouths and let out a horrible shriek so powerful that it sent Red, Leaf and their Pokemon tumbling backwards. While they recovered from the sudden attack, the group of Clefairy began to wiggle their finger and chant their name creepily. Pikachu jumped to his feet, apparently used to this kind of move, and suddenly a glass wall glinted between the Clefairy and Pikachu.

When they did send out a powerful move that looked like an aurora beam, it slowed and thinned as it passed through the glass like structure separating them. Pikachu took the blow and retaliated with an electric attack. Charmander, not wanting to miss out on the action jumped up next to Pikachu and sent out his own flurry of embers. Even though at the moment they appeared to be winning, Red wasn't fooled. These Clefairy were no push overs and there were way too many to take on. That mean their only other option was to run...

"Leaf we need a distraction, and then we need to run. There are too many," Red explained to Leaf, who was now very involved in the battle.

She glanced over at him and then nodded.

"Smokescreen Charmander!" Leaf commanded.

"Hold them back with a thunder wave!" Red called out to Pikachu.

Red was worried the Pokemon might not like being instructed how to battle, but it didn't seem to mind. While the Clefairy were recovering from the confusion of the two attacks, they made their getaway. When the finally stopped to catch their breath, they were deep into the mountain. Red glanced up at Leaf and then suddenly everything around them lite up. The amount of light momentarily blinded them, but when their eyes did finally adjust they were able to see the source of it,

"It looks like somebody strung lights up on the ceiling," Leaf commented out of breathe

"I think those have been around a while for travelers. They probably shut them off at night to preserve energy and let the trainers know when night is," Red replied.

"Makes sense," Leaf panted, her hands gripping her side.

They continued on walking for a while without anything too eventful happenings. Pikachu fried a couple of zubats that attacked and Charmander proved he had master metal claw by demonstrating on a geodude. As red trudged on, he began to find that spending so much time up the last two nights was starting to catch up on him. His movements became sluggish and he began to struggle to stay up with Leaf. Noticing this, Leaf proposed they take a break to spare Red's pride. They ate a brief breakfast before continuing on.

"Back there, back at the tent, when they were talking... What were they talking about? It sounded like they were talking about you, but that wouldn't make any sense," Leaf seemed o struggle to put her thoughts into words as she glanced over at Red.

He tensed, his mind racing for an answer. Truthfully, he had completely forgotten about the people in the tent, but know it all came rushing back to him. They hadn't said much, but it was obvious that they were somehow connected to team rocket. Lost in thought, he forgot to answer Leaf until she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Oh, uh, I don't really know what they were talking about. It makes this whole fossil excavating thing look real suspicious though," Red shrugged in response.

Leaf didn't seem satisfied with this answer, but she didn't press. Soon the tunnel they were walking in opened up into a very large open area. Red froze when he saw the large amount of trucks and workers in the area. There was no way they would be able to get around this big of an area without being seen. That mean they would have to go back and take the fork that the Clefairy had come charging out of...

"We have to get across," Leaf insisted, seeming to read his thoughts.

"How?" He asked stubbornly.

"Maybe we can steal some hard hats and just walk across, in plain sight. I saw it in a movie once, it worked too," Leaf suggested.

Red mulled the idea around in his head for a moment, it becoming more appealing by the second. There was a truck not far from them full of equipment, including yellow hard hats. If they walked over and just put them on, nobody might even think anything of it. The workers even seemed to be wearing various outfits, which would help their disguise.

"Okay," He agreed.

Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, Red walked out of the protection of the tunnel. Leaf returned Charmander and then followed, trying to act casual as her eyes darted around in fear. Nobody seemed to be paying much attention as they hacked endlessly at the stones or brushed away at an emerging fossil. They both grabbed a hard hat and a tool belt from the truck. Leaf hoped nobody would be missing them as she put hers on. After exchanging a quick glance, Leaf followed Red as he led them rough the chaos and towards the tunnel across from them. In the center of everything a woman with blood red hair cut around her chin was yelling commands with a scowl. Red cut behind a couple of trucks and a makeshift tent to stay away from here. Just when they thought they were in the clear they heard a voice shout out.

"Hey! You two! Get down here. Where the hell do you think your going?"A very angry voice screamed at them.

Red glanced at the tunnel, but he knew he would never be able to reach there in time. Trucks and workers blocked their path, and now many eyes were on them. They would have to lie their way out of this one. Turning, Red walked back towards the woman with his eyes shaded by the hard hat. Leaf walked with him, but he could tell she was nervous.

"What the hell do you two think you were doing?" She spat at them, anger in her eyes.

"I thought I saw some Clefairy in the tunnel, so I asked Alice to check it out with me. They've been giving us some trouble," Red lied smoothly.

She regarded them with her narrowed blood red eyes. Leaf shifted anxiously, her eyes looking every where but at the woman's.

"You trying to fight it away with your Pikachu or something?" She snorted, glancing down at the yellow rodent standing by Red's legs.

"He's stronger than he looks ma'am," Red replied politely.

"What did you say your name was? I think we've meet somewhere," She cocked her head, studying him.

Chills ran down Red's spine, but he remained calm as he answered, "Max, Max smith."

"Got a real shiner there. Who gave it to you," her eyes studied the bruise on his jaw bone.

"Got into a fight with a couple of other guys over a game. Stupid really,"

"Max, huh? Where are you from?" She persisted.

Leaf prickled, and Red could see her itching for a way to fight out of this.

"Viridian City,"

A smile tugged at the corner of her cherry red lips. She began to laugh. Leaf tensed, her hand reaching for her belt.

"Giovanni will be pleased when I bring you to him,"

**Cliff hanger! If you look back in my previous chapters, you could probably figure out who this woman is if you don't already know. Just want to thank everyone who takes time out of their day to read my story, really means a lot to me. In the next chapter you can obvioulsy expect some more team rocket, but also Blue is coming back! So stay tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Blue's hazel eyes exaimined his surronding as he worn a sneering grin on his face. He held his head high and walked with pride through the grassy area. He had already creamed that puny rock gym leader with his squirtle and would defeat this new one just as easy. He was also willing to bet he had caught way more pokemon than Leaf and Red combined, making him the strongest trainer of the three. He hadn't seen either of them for a while, so Blue asumed that Leaf had probably gotten stuck trying to beat Brock with her fire type, and Red, being the idiot he was, probably stayed back with her. He had tried to warn Red that Leaf would only be deadweight and he should just leave her behind, but of course Red hadn't listened to him. The only reason Blue even cared about Red was because he needed some compition every once and a while to make his pokemon stronger.

Blue was so engrossed in thought that he almost didn't notice the boy standing not far up the trail he was walking. Blue felt his mouth drop open because this guy looked almost exactly like Red did, from the back at least. He looked about the same height, and had the same raven black hair jutting out from beneath a hat. The boy was wearing a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, a jacket, and had a backpack hanging off his shoulders. That was not the only thing on his shoulders though, because resting on top of his shoulder was a little yellow colored pokemon with a lightning shaped tail. The trainer was standing in the middle of the trail, his arms extending, so he was probably holding something.

Blue stood completely still for a moment, not quite knowing how to handle the situation. If this was Red, then where was Leaf? And how did they get so far ahead of him? But this boy undoubtly looked a lot like Red did, besides the Pikachu. Blue, recovering some of his previous confidence, strood up to the boy. The pikachu on his shoulder twitched its ears and glanced back at him. He ignored it and kept walking as the boy turned to look at the newcomer. From the front, he did look a lot like Red, but it was also obvious he was not. He had a more laidback and playful demeanor to him, while Red was typically cool and calculated. He looked much more inocent then Red did with light blue eyes. The boy sighed with relief when he saw Blue approaching him.

"Hey dude. I was just wondering if you knew what was going on back there at Mt. Moon? I went there from Cerulean and they told me I coudn't get through. I was really hoping to catch a clefairy," He asked, his pikachu's eyes watching him warily the whole time.

"They are excavating for fossils. You're a trainer I'm guessing then?" Blue asked, glancing over at the pokemon.

"Yeah, looks like you are one too," The boy commented, glancing at his belt holding his pokeballs.

"You know, you really look like this guy I know, what's your name anyways?"

"Really? What's his name? Maybe I know this guy. I didn't catch what your name was though,"

"His name is Red and mine is Blue, but what's your name?" Blue demanded, growing a little annoyed.

He just chuckled, causing Blue to grow even more agitated.

"What's so funny?" Blue growled.

"You are. You got a hot head kid, you need to cool off," He shrugged in response.

"Who you calling kid?" Blue stepped forward, so their faces were only inches apart.

They mysterious boy pushed Blue's chest back with his pointer fingering, smiling the whole time. The pikachu on his shoulder did not share its trainer's carefree demeanor. Its red cheeks were sparking with electricity.

"How about we settle our dispute with a battle? I'll even tell you my name if you manage to win," He suggested, his eyes gleaming.

"Deal, lets make it a 3-on-3 battle with no substitutes," Blue was already grabbing his first pokeball of his belt as he took his stance.

The boy nodded in response and reached for his first pokeball as well. Blue's smile was filled confidence as he released his first pokemon. The pokemon that emerged was small, green and reptilian. It had a large spike on the top of its head and small, narrowed red eyes, which were the same shade of red as the diamond on its stomach. It stood up on its back legs and its arms were crossed slyly infront of its chest. Blue smiled in pride as he watched his larvitar. He had traded it the other day for a weak clefairy that he had caught in Mt. Moon. He had been training with it, and he found that the pokemon was surprisingly strong.

Standing across from his ground pokemon was a bulbasaur. Blue stared at the pokemon in shock, being once again reminded of Red. The bulbasaur, despite its size, looked strong. It paitently waited for its trainer's command as it stared down Blue's pokemon.

"You can go first," The trainer smiled at him.

Blue glowered as he shouted, "Use screech, and then bite!"

The larvitar opened its mouth and let out a loud screech, causing the bulbasaur to flinch. It toke the opening and clamped its jaws around the bulbasuar's leg, causing the grass pokemon to cry out in pain.

"Ivy, use Leech seed!"

Ivy began to focus, and suddenly a seed shot from its bulb and latched onto Larvitar. Larvitar, startled, let go of Ivy as vines from the leech seed began to wrap around it. It stood stiffly as its energy was drained from it.

"Larvitar, chip away!" Blue yelled, hoping to end this battle quickly.

Larvitar charged and slammed into Ivy. Despite the strength of the move, Ivy stood its ground. It quickly retaliated with a vine whip. Larviatar struggled to its feet, feeling the effect of the double super effective move combined with the leech seed sucking its energy out. Larvitar charged once more, but was intercepted with a razor leaf. Unlike before, Larvitar couldn't handle the attack and fell to the ground. Blue cursed under his breath, and released a spearow. He had found the Spearow had much strong attacks than his pidgey did and fit his battling style a lot better. The bird pokemon let out a cry as it circled through the air.

"You should really stop scowling, otherwise one day you'll find you can't stop anymore," The trainer called out, a cocky grin on his lips.

Blue answered him with an even more angry scowl. The trainer laughed and said, "Ya know, its okay to smile while battling. Its supposed to be fun!"

"Can you just shut up and battle already!" Blue growled.

"Start us off with a razor leaf," the trainer answered him.

The bublasaur fired a series of super sharp leaves at Spearow, but the bird pokemon managed to dodge all of them. Spearow, at Blue's command, dove down and struck the bulbasaur with a peck attack. The grass pokemon flinched, but didn't seem to take serious damage. Before Ivy could hit back, Spearow retreated to the sky.

"Finish it off with a gust!" Blue called.

Spearow began to rapidly flap its wings, sending gust after gust at Ivy. The bulbasaur jumped away, and began to run quickly away from the gusts of wing. Two of its wines appeared from its back and shot out at Spearow. The pokemon was unable to dodge in time and the vines wrapped around its legs.

"Slam it to the ground!"

Ivy slammed Spearow into the ground, and then into a tree.

"Now posion powder!"

The back of Ivy's bulb opened and a purple powder puffed out, quickly filling the air around Spearow. Spearow toke one breathe of air and then suddenly turned very pale.

"Get out of there!" Blue cried in panic.

Spearow began to peck at the vines, causing Ivy to release him. He soared to the sky, but it was already too late. The posion was already starting to take hold of Spearow. Blue needed to end this battle quickly if he had wanted to have any chance of winning this battle.

"Quick attack!"

Holding his breathe, Spearow dove down and struck Ivy. Spearow then propelled itself backwards with a gust attack in Ivy's face. The poor grass type couldn't handle anymore and fell. The trainer smiled at his pokemon sadly as he returned his pokemon.

"Nice fight Ivy," He said to the pokeball and then turned to his pikachu and said, "You ready?"

"Pika!" The pikachu jumped off his shoulder and confidently stood across from the opposing pokemon.

Blue glanced up at his weak spearow hovering just ahead of him. This guy was no pushover, his bulbasaur had shown that much. With Spearow being posioned and having the type disadvantage, there was no way the bird type pokemon would last much longer. Blue's strongest pokemon was squirtle, but it had the type disadavantage against the pikachu. Blue clenched his fists, trying to come up with a winning stragety to no avail.

"Use thundershock, Volt!" The trainer called.

The pikachu's cheeks began to spark and shortly after a bolt of electricity shot out and struck Spearow. The bird pokemon plummeted and slammed into the ground, unconsious. Blue returned his spearow and enlarged his next pokeball. Without hesitation he threw it to release Squirtle. The turtle pokemon proudly announced its name and then toke up a fighting stance.

"Squirtle use water gun!" Blue called out.

Squirtle released a strong stream of water from its mouth, but Volt dodged the move with ease. And then, as if to tease the squirtle, Volt began to stomp in the puddle the water move had left behind. Infuriated, Squirtle charged at Volt.

"Thundershock,"

The pikachu shocked Squirtle as he charged. Squirtle dropped to all fours, panting heavily. Volt, without hesisation, used thundershock once more. Squirtle fell to the ground, unconsious. Blue stared in horror and complete shock at his starter pokemon. It hadn't even looked like the pikachu had been trying. Grinding his teeth, he returned his pokemon.

"Nice battle kid. Even though you weren't much of a challenge, you put up a good fight." He held out his hand to Blue.

Blue begrudingly toke it and shook it. The trainer pulled his hand away and shoved both into his jean pockets. His pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder as he began to whistle as he walked away.

"Hey! You never told me your name!" Blue called out.

"I'll tell you the next time we meet, I promise," He called back, never turning back around as he walked towards Mt. Moon, though Blue did not know why he was still going there.

"What if I never see you again?" Blue yelled, wanting to a rematch with this jerk as soon as possible.

"Trust me, we'll meet again,"

* * *

It seemed that everything around Leaf had turned to chaos. Red was totally focused on the battle raging between him and the red-haired woman. The workers around them were either watching, releasing their own pokemon or running away. Red's pikachu had shot a bolt of electricity towards the opposing Arbok, and missed. The electricity had struck instead a large machine, which of course burst into the flames and fell into another machine. Leaf was thankful for the diversion though, that way less attention would be on Red and her. She had called out Charmander and Weedle in case anybody tried to attack them, but so far the only person attacking was the woman.

"Thunder wave!" Red called.

Pikachu shocked the Arbok, causing electricity to dance over its purple boy. The snake pokemon hissed and charged forward, only to be stopped by the electricity that now paralyzed him. Before Pikachu had the chance to attack again, the arbok was returned. She released her next pokemon, a Golbat. The bat pokemon cried out as it hovered in front of its trainer. Leaf turned her attention away from the battle and focused on the surronding.

Many of the workers had rushed to stop the fire that was spreading and others were rushing away the precious fossils. She glanced at her Charmander and Weedle, who too were watching the scene with anticipation. Suddenly one trainer pointed at her and his machop came chraging. Charmander countered with an ember attack, which hit the machop square in the chest. While the fighting type pokemon was distracted, Charmander used a bombard of scratch attacks. The machop fell to the ground unconsious. The trainer returned his pokemon before hightailing it out of there.

Leaf became very aware of the number of pokemon there were around them. Way too many to take in battle. She also noticed that a majority of the people left behind were wearing black shirts with red R's on them. Weedle shot a string shot at an advancing rattata, while Charmander followed up with a series of embers. Behind her, Red had recalled his pikachu and was now battling the woman's weezing with his pidgeotto. The two seemed to be almost equally matched, though Leaf wasn't sure if the woman had more pokemon than Red did. Leaf still wasn't exactly sure why this woman was attacking, and if after this they would be in big trouble, but right now it felt like if they didn't get out of here, it could be the death of them. That meant that they needed a distraction to get away.

"Charmander, use ember on that machine!" Leaf called out.

Charmander sent out a series of ember attacks towards the machine, causing the engine to explode. Many of the workers and their pokemon rushed over to the machine. Leaf glanced back at Red, who was now fighting with Nidoran against her Weezzing. Though many of the workers had rushed to tend to the machine, many were now also focused on stopping her. A pair of zubats flew towards them, but were shot down by Weedle and Charmander. Leaf suddenly realzied that the situation was growing more grim by the moment. That's when she heard the familiar chanting, almost drowned out by the chaos, echoing down the hall. She turned to see Clefairy after Clefairy pouring out of the mouth of the cave, all looking very angry.

Leaf recognized the miracle almost instantly, and returned her weedle.

"Red, follow my lead!" Leaf called out, hoping her friend would hear her.

The Clefairy began to wiggle their fingers in unision, and suddenly something else exploded. The noise was almost deafening. Rocks from the ceiling of the cave began to tumble down, crushing anything below them.

"Red!" Leaf screamed, running over and grabbing his wrist.

"Charamander, use smokescreen right at her face!" Leaf commanded her pokemon as she pulled Red away from his battle.

Numb from shock of the noise, Red recalled his pokemon and followed Leaf as she lead him away from the battle. Pikachu clung to his shoulder as he stumbled through the cave. Once Leaf stopped so aburptly he almost ran into her. Moments later, a giant boulder fell where they would have been running. Leaf ran around it, now following the fire on her pokemon's tail as he ran in front of them. Something else exploded from behind them, and Leaf could hear screams. The air was now so thick full of smoke and dust it was choking Red and making it even harder to see.

"Leaf," Red coughed.

"Almost there, just keep going," She urged him

With chaos reigning behind them, they ran into the mouth of another tunnel, leaving it all behind. The sounds of screaming and explosions began to fade until the only sound was their own breathing and their feet hitting the ground. After they had been sprinting for a couple minutes, Leaf began to slow to catch her breath.

"No, we have to keep going," He urged her.

Leaf glanced over at him, her face flushed, and she nodded. They only stopped running after Red though it was safe to. Leaf had lost track of all the turns they'd taken to avoid being followed, but she was willing to bet they were pretty safe now. She had long since returned Charmander, finding it unfair for him to have to run with them all this way. Leaf leaned up against the side of the cave wall, trying to ignore how cool and wet it was, while she toke deep breathes. She glanced around them, and suddenly she realized she had no idea where they were. She knew, of course, they were in Mt. Moon, but she had no idea which direction they had come from and where Cereluean City. Leaf began to rummage through her bag for the map she had picked up from the pokemon center. Red walked over to her curiously as she pulled out the map.

"I think we're lost," Leaf exlained as she examined the map.

Red swung his backpack from his shoulder and unzipped a pouch. He pulled out a compass and let the needle find north. When it did, he glanced over at the map and then back at the compass.

"We should be heading north, which is to our left," He informed Leaf.

She nodded, putting the map away. They continued walking, taking the first left they could, and were suprised by the lack of wild pokemon. True, a zubat had attacked them once (Pikachu scared it off), but other then that, there weren't any to be seen. Leaf assumed the lack of pokemon was due to the excavators, or whatever they really were, medling around in the caves. This sadly also ment that it was unlikely for Leaf to encounter another wild clefairy.

"We should be outta here soon," Red informed her.

"Good, I miss the sun,"

They continued their long walk through the damp and humid tunnels. The walk was very bland until Red caught sight of something up ahead.

"What's that?" He pointed towards a small figure rumaging on the ground for something.

"Looks like a sandshrew," Leaf replied, studying the pokemon.

It raised its head at their approach, verifying Leaf's theory. The small ground pokemon looked over them before growling. It toke up an offensive posture, its eyes narrowed and teeth bared. Pikachu jumped from Red's shoulder and stood across from it, its cheeks sparking. Even though Pikachu wasn't the ideal choice for fighting off a ground type, Red decided to roll with it.

"Pikachu, quick attack!" Red called out.

Pikachu shot forward with blinding speed and slammed into the wild sandshrew. It stumbled backwards, but regained its balance. It ran towards Pikachu with its arm raised and ready to strike, but Pikachu simply circled around it and hit it with another quick attack. It was obvious to see that sandshrew was getting upset. It curled into a ball and sped towards Pikachu. Pikachu dodged once more. Red recognized the move as roll-out, remembering how Brock's geoduded had used the move during their pokemon battle.

"Use double team, and then tail whip," Red instucted.

Pikachu flashed white and then copies of itself began to rapidly apear around the sandshrew. It barreled through one, only to have it disappear the second it touched the fake copy. The remaining pikachus wagged their tails cutely. Sandshrew picked another pikachu and rolled through another fake copy as well. Finally it uncurled, its face reddened with frustration. The Pikachu's all shot forward in unison and struck the sandshrew with a quick attack. After lowering its defense, the attack did a considerable amount of damage, but the ground pokemon wasn't done fighting just yet. It charged towards Pikachu and this time its claws made contact with the electric pokemon. Pikachu instinctivly shocked Sandshrew when it made contact with him, but the attack had no effect.

"Use quick attack once more,"

Pikachu charged forward, but the sandshrew was ready this time. Before Pikachu hit, it curled into a ball and the blow barely hurt it. Sandshrew uncurled and countered with a poison sting. It opened its mouth as purple needles shot at Pikachu.

"Dodge with quick attack,"

Pikachu dodged the attack and then circled around and slammed into Sandshrew. The ground pokemon wavered and then fell to the ground unconsious. Red unlatched a pokeball from his belt, enlarged it, and then tossed it. It bounced of Sandshrew and then shoke three times before clicking. Red walked forward to retrieve his newest pokemon.

"Nice job Red, that was a good use of Pikachu's speed," Leaf congratulated him.

He smiled at her and then looked at the pokeball he held in his hand. Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder and looked down at the pokeball curiously. He shrunk it and then latched it back onto his belt. As they continued to walk, Leaf realized that Red now had 5 pokemon, while she only had 3. She supposed it didn't matter how many pokemon you really had, but she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Red. She would have to catch one once they got to Cereulean City she decided.

"Do you know what type of pokemon the gym leader specializes in?" Leaf asked.

"Water," Red replied, glancing at Pikachu.

Leaf groaned. None of her pokemon had a type advantage against the gym leader, again. Charmander would be at the greatest disadvantage for sure. Leaf didn't even know if she should use him in the battle. Red on the other hand had two pokemon with the type advantage.

"I'm gonna need to really start training then," Leaf sighed.

"Don't sweat it, you'll do fine," Red assured her.

Leaf gave him a weak smile and her hand rested on the pokeballs hanging from her belt. Ahead, Leaf could see the end of the tunnel and a speck of green. Excitment rushed through her as her pace picked up. Finally they would be getting out of these damp, cold, and exhausting tunnels. Outside the sun was begining to fall, but there was still plenty of light. the grass swayed under their feet with the light wind. Leaf could see Cereulean City in the distance. It wasn't as big as Viridian City, but bigger then Pewter City. To their left was a small river, and on its opposite bank was a eirie looking cave. Red glanced over at the cave, a chill running down his spine. He looked away quickly.

"Wonder whats over there," Leaf though out loud.

Red didn't reply, but he glanced back at the cave. He got the feeling he was being watched, but there was no one else around besides Pikachu and Leaf.

"It looks so pretty," Leaf whispered in awe, her eyes round.

Red looked over at what Leaf was refering to. It did indeed look beautiful. The sun was barely visible from behind the city, but it painted the sky shades of pink and orange that blended with the already blue sky. A few wisps of clouds drifted through the air, and the moon was a faint orb barely visible in the display of colors. It gave the city a very magestic and luring feel. Cereulean City looked pretty much the same as any other city from inside. There were more people meandering around then in the other cities, but they seemed cheerful and posed no threat. Leaf located the pokemon center in no time, a talent she was begining to get pretty good at. From behind the counter, the familiar face of Nurse Joy greeted them with a smile.

After healing their pokemon and checking out a room, they headed upstairs. Leaf collapsed onto her bed, throwing her bag onto the floor. Red plopped down on the bed opposite to her while Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and curled up on it. Leaf fell asleep peacefully that night, but Red couldn't get the image of the haunting cave from his mind as he doozed off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, I just wanted to real quick thank everyone who favorites, follows, reviews or just even read my story. The support means the world to me! I also wanted to say I'm think I'm going to start writing shorter chapters so I can update more often, instead of updating about once a month with a long chapter. So without further ado, here is Chapter 10!**

**Chapter 10**

Pikachu curiously and almost suspiciously examined the red and white ball Red held out in front of him. The small electric pokemon looked up at him and then back at the ball he had seen so many other pokemon sucked into.

"Pikachu, you've been traveling with me for a while now. From the way you've been acting, it seems you want to be my pokemon, and not just a traveling companion. The thing is, if you want to be officially my pokemon, I have to catch you. I could release you as soon as you were caught, but otherwise you're technically not my pokemon. Its fine if you just want to travel with us too, I just wanted to give you the option," Red explained as he crouched next to Pikachu.

The pikachu looked thoughtful for a moment, and then smiled as he nodded up at Red. It lightly tapped the pokeball and was sucked into it by a red light. The ball wiggled three times and then let out a satisfying click. Immediately, Red released Pikachu from the pokeball. It let out a cheerful cry and did a little dance. Red chuckled as he watched his newest pokemon dance around the training arena. Red had decided he wanted to get in a little training before the battle with the gym leader. Leaf was still in their room doing who knows what.

Red released Bulbasaur, who greeted them by declaring his name. The door to the training area slammed shut behind him. Red glanced behind him to see Leaf with a fishing pole slung over her shoulder and a fisherman's hat replacing her usual white one. She wore a big grin on her face that touched her eyes.

"Hey Red! I just wanted to tell you I'm going to go fishing at the river and catch myself a water pokemon!" She declared enthusiastically.

Yesterday they had spent most of the day sight-seeing and shopping. Red had restocked on items such as potions and antidotes, but Leaf had spotted a fishing pole and since then been set on catching a pokemon fishing. Of course, she would need the appropriate hat to go along with her fishing pole.

"Good luck," He said in response as she rushed out the door in excitement.

Red chuckled as she went, hoping for her sake that she really did catch a pokemon. Red turned his attention back to his pokemon, who were both watching him eagerly. He thought for a moment, glancing between the two of them before saying anything.

"Okay Pikachu, we're going to be working on your speed and evasiveness. Bulbasaur is going to be firing a razor leaf attack at you, and occasionally a vine whip attack. You are going to be trying to avoid Bulbasaur for as long as you can," Red instructed.

Both his pokemon let out cries of agreement and took their places on the field. Pikachu's muscles tensed as Bulbasaur stood across from him, ready to attack. At Red's command, Bulbasaur sent out a storm of leaves towards Pikachu. Pikachu lept to the side, avoiding them and rolled away from the vine that Bulbasaur lashed at him. The two continued their little dance for a couple more minutes, both getting more and more tired. Even though Bulbasaur was barely getting any hits on Pikachu, it was clear to see that the way he was attacking made it almost impossible for Pikachu to get a counterattack off. Red proudly watched his pokemon, admiring their strengths for a moment before calling out for them to stop. Both were panting from the short work out.

"Why don't you two take a break. I'm going to work with Sandshrew and Nidoran," Red told them.

They nodded in relief as he enlarged two more pokeballs. Sandshrew and Nidoran appeared, Nidoran looking excited while Sandshrew looked a little confused. It glanced up at Red, his face paling a shade, and then took a step back.

"Hey Sandshrew, no need to be afraid," Red inched closer holding his hands up as a sign he meant no harm.

Sandshrew eyed him warily and when Red reached out to touch him, he growling. Red pulled his hand back, slightly wounded. Nidoran glanced between the two, and then seeing Sandshrew's revulsion for Red, he ran over and tried to speak to him. Sandshrew stubbornly crossed his arms as Nidoran talked to him. Red was a little stunned. A pokemon had never shunned him like that, especially not one of his own. Why wouldn't Sandshrew like him? Maybe he had had bad experiences with humans in the past, or was just scared of this new place. Red pulled out a pokeblock he'd picked up at the store and tried approaching Sandshrew once more.

"Here buddy, I swear I won't hurt you," He said in a soothing voice.

As Red inched closer, Sandshrew suddenly shot forward with his claws extended in a threatening way. Red flinched, pulling his hand back and dropping the pokeblock on the ground. Sandshrew snatched the food, glaring at Red the whole while, and then devoured it. Nidoran did not take lightly to pokemon attacking its trainer though, and began to scold Sandshrew. Sandshrew began to growl and pretty soon the two pokemon were in each others faces. In an instant, Sandshrew had lashed out and they were fighting.

"Enough! Stop it, both of you!" Red yelled, anger rising up in him.

Bulbasaur shot two vines out and wrapped them around Sandshrew's arms, pulling him away from Nidoran. The two were glaring at each other intensely, Sandshrew's chest heaving up and down and he struggled to pull his arms free.

"Sandshrew, you can't just attack your team mates or your trainer. Return," Red growled.

The ground pokemon vanished in a flash of red light. Red held the pokeball in his hand, staring at it while he realized just how heavily he was breathing. He glanced up at his other pokemon, wondering what they thought of the whole ordeal. Red walked over to Nidoran and scratched him under the ear.

"Thanks for sticking up for me buddy," He said softly, and then nodded his thanks to his starter pokemon.

"Nido, Nidoran!" He replied.

"Since Sandshrew is definitely not ready for training, let's go Pidgeotto!" Red tossed a pokeball in the air.

The bird pokemon appeared hovering just above the ground as it let out a friendly coo. Red returned Bulbasaur, who looked like he needed a rest and instructed his other two pokemon to stand across from each other. Pikachu ran over and jumped onto Red's shoulder to watch the training. Red began to command the two pokemon to attack each other, shouting out different moves for each of them to use. Before he knew it, Leaf was back from fishing with a big smile on her face and Charmander by her side. Red glanced up at the clock, surprised by how quickly time had gotten away from him.

"Hey Leaf," Red greeted her.

"Salutations my good friend," Leaf dipped her hat to him, a goofy smile on her face.

"So..." Red inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I caught a pokemon!" She yelled in excitement, jumping up and down.

"Way to go Leaf, let's see it," He congratulated him.

Leaf held her finger out in front of her and waggled it back and forth.

"Nah, Nah, Nah. You'll just have to wait and see when I battle with it next. Trust me though, this guy is a keeper," She bragged beaming.

Leaf stood with her hands on her hips and chin up, and Charmander stood next to her in the same pose. Red chuckled, shaking his head at his friend. He glanced over at proud fire pokemon.

"You took Charmander fishing with you?" He asked.

"Yeah, it got kinda boring sitting there by myself," Leaf nodded.

"Charmander's a fire type though, it could have been dangerous," Red frowned.

"He's not a baby, he can sit next to water and not have to worry about dying," Leaf retorted, crossing her arms.

"Whatever you say princess," Red replied in disapproval.

Leaf ignored the snarky remark and suggested, "Hey, there's this cool bridge near the river and not far from town is a scientist or something that could help us fill out our pokedex pages. I think we should go give it a visit."

"Sure, but first you should go change, you smell like fish," Red teased her, wrinkling his nose.

Leaf rolled her eyes, but left to got change. She returned in a few minutes with her normal clothes on and a hint of perfume. Red returned his pokemon, save Pikachu, and followed her out the door. The city outside wasn't extremely busy, but there were definitely people around. It had an air of peacefulness to it and altogether the city looked pretty well kempt. Leaf lead him towards the river, her head held high and eyes shining.

"You should try fishing sometime, its fun," Leaf remarked as they walked.

"Maybe," Red shrugged.

"I met this girl who was really good at fishing. She helped me catch my pokemon, and I intend to train it to be really strong," Leaf explained, a fierce determination in her eyes.

"I'm sure you will," Red agreed, his eyes wandering over to the small river.

Leaf continued to talk, and Red nodded along like he was listening when in reality his mind was elsewhere. He was still upset about the way Sandshrew had acted towards him. It had been as though the pokemon didn't just fear him, he resented him. Sandshrew had even gone as far as to attack Nidoran, and Red didn't really know what to do about it. Should he ask for help? But if so, then from whom?

"You okay?" Leaf asked frowning slightly.

"Yeah... well, not really," Red sighed as he began to describe the fight with Sandshrew.

"That's really weird," Leaf commented once he had finished.

"Its been bothering me. I don't know what I did wrong," Red confessed.

"Maybe Sandshrew is just stressed about being in a new place. It did seem to have a feisty personality back in Mt. Moon. You could ask Nurse Joy for some advice, I'm sure she deals with all sorts of different problems in pokemon, or you could wait it out and see if he has a change of heart," Leaf suggested.

Red nodded, thinking over both options. They continued to walk, getting farther and farther away from the city. Leaf seemed pretty confident on which what they were going though, so he didn't question her. In the distance he could see a bridge over a split in the river. He assumed that it was bridge Leaf had mentioned earlier by the way her face lite up. The bridge was brown and wooden, and even though it looked old, it also looked sturdy.

"Nugget Bridge: Beat all five trainers and win a marvelous prize!" Leaf read off the sign in front of the bridge.

Down the bridge, five trainer were stationed on the bridge. The one closest to them, a girl with light brown hair and a cute mini skirt, was gently rubbing her rattata under the chin as she sprayed a potion over him. She glanced up at them frowning when they walked over to her.

"A kid already beat us all and took the prize. Maybe another day," She explained.

"Is it alright if we still pass through here?" Leaf asked.

She simply nodded in response, to preoccupied with her pokemon to actually care about them. They continued to walked down the bridge, seeing many other pokemon trainers also nursing their pokemon back to health. Almost every one of them seemed to have a grumpy look on their face. Leaf wondered who could have beat everyone of theses trainers. She was also curious about what prize they had won. Past the bridge was a large cliff and on the edge of the cliff was a large lighthouse with a house attached to it. Leaf could see the last couple days newspaper were scattered around the front porch and all the lights were off as she neared. Leaf glanced over at Red nervously, who gave her a look that said 'this was your idea'. Tentatively, she knocked on the wooden front door lightly.

They both waited a moment, and when there was no response, Leaf knocked again, harder this time. To their surprise, as Leaf knocked the door swung inward on itself slightly. She pushed the door the rest of the way open and looked in. Inside was a room with a large odd looking machine sitting in both far corners and a desk with a computer. A bit of paper was scattered around on the floor along with a few other pieces of trash.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Leaf called out, though nobody answered.

They were about to turn around and head out when they heard a rustle of papers.

"Hello?" Leaf called again, taking a step inside the house.

"Erm, Hello. Please do come in. You must excuse me for the mess, I've been quite busy lately," A voice said in reply.

After exchanging a look, Red and Leaf stepped inside. Lights flashed on suddenly, giving them an actual look at the room. To their surprise, there was no person in the room, only a clefairy standing in the middle of the room. It was giving them a big grin, but it was obvious something was off about the pokemon. Pikachu jumped off Red's shoulder and walked over to it, probably to talk to it, but it spoke first.

"Welcome to my house, I'm sorry to ask this of guest, but would you mind doing a favor for me?" The clefairy said, speaking perfect english.

Leaf's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You're-you're a clefairy! how are you talking?" Leaf declared.

"Actually, despite what you see, I'm actually a person. My name is Bill," The clefairy stepping towards the, causing Pikachu to step away from the fairy pokemon.

"But you-how?"

"Well its actually a funny story. You see I have been working on a cellular transportation device, and while I was messing around with it, I accidentally turned myself into a pokemon. I would have turned myself back into a human, but I need to push a button on my computer to activate the machine," The clefairy explained, gesturing to the machine behind him and then to the computer.

"So if we push this button, you'll turn back into a human?" Leaf clarified.

"Correct. It would be splendid if once I entered the machine you would go over to the computer and push the big red button next to it," The clefairy replied.

"Yeah, I guess we can do that," Leaf agreed, still trying to get over the fact that this clefairy was actually a person.

"Thank you kindly!" He called out as he entered the machine.

The door slid shut and clicked behind him. Leaf walked over the computer and located the big red button quickly. After a moment's hesitation, she pushed the button. The machine began to buzz and hum while lights on it flashed. It continued to make noise and lights until it let out another beep and machine on the other side of the room flashed. The door slide open and revealed a man in his 40's wearing a blue shirt and a pair of khakis. His black hair was peppered with grey and stuck out in every direction. He reached up and fixed the glasses that were askew on his face. He flashed them a smile and hurried over to shake their hands.

"Thank you so much for the help, as my repayment you must have these," He said, reaching in to his desk drawer and rummaging around for something. He pulled out a pair of tickets and handed one to each of the trainers. On the ticket in big bold letters were the words S.S Anne. Leaf looked up in surprise, a big grin on her face.

"Thank you so much sir, but are you sure we can take these?"

"Oh its, the least I can do. Why don't you have a look at my computer as well, I have the files on some rare pokemon you can add to your pokedex," He suggested with a smile.

He began to mess around on his computer and pretty soon a file with a picture of a small brown fox looking pokemon appeared. Above the picture was the name Eevee and there was arrows pointing to 8 different pokemon who all looked similar, but also different. Red eagerly pulled out his pokedex and began to register each of the pokemon, so Leaf decided to do the same. After registering the pokemon, they talked to Bill for a while before leaving. The day was turning out to be pretty good when they saw him standing and looking out at the river.

"Blue," Leaf growled, her hands clenching into fists as she recognized her rival.

He must have heard them coming because he turned and glanced over at them. He smiled cockily at them when he recognized them.

"Leaf, Red. I thought I smelled something funny," He greeted them.

"That was probably the river," Leaf pointed out, crossing her arms.

Blue just chuckled at her.

"What brings you two this way?"

"We just got done getting some information on super rare pokemon. We also got these," Leaf bragged, flashing her tickets.

"Wow, you got some too?" He brought out his own ticket, grinning broadly.

Leaf faltered, her expression turning to confusion.

"How did you get that?" She asked

"What, you didn't beat those weaklings on the Nugget Bridge?"

"No, we, uh, Bill gave them to us after we helped him with a, uh... situation," Leaf explained frowning.

"You couldn't even beat the Nugget Bridge? Pathetic!" Blue began to laugh.

Leaf's face reddened, but Red saved her from talking.

"We didn't get a chance, their pokemon had to recover from your battle," Red explained.

"I bet you two don't have the cascade badge yet though, do you?" He grinned, holding out the tear drop shaped badge.

When he got no response, it only prompted him to laugh some more.

"You two are weaker than I thought!" He taunted them.

"It's just a stupid gym badge, It doesn't prove anything!" Leaf growled.

"Then let's battle, and that will prove something," Blue challenged her.

"You're on," She grabbed her pokeball and enlarged it.

Blue laughed some more at them, "Not now. Tomorrow meet me at the Nugget bridge and we'll battle there,"

"I'll be there," Leaf agreed, clipped her pokeball back onto her belt.

"Smell ya later," He turned and walked away from them with one hand in his pocket and the other in the air.

Leaf's eyes were narrowed and her hands were clenched into fists. She suddenly began to run back towards Cerulean city with a determined expression on her face. Startled, Red began to run after her.

"Leaf, where are you going?" He shouted out, slowing down a bit.

"I'm going to train. There is no way I'm letting that jerk beat me!"

**Finally Leaf and Blue get to have a battle, and Leaf caught a new pokemon! Any ideas as to what you think Leaf caught, and who do you think will win the battle? Any comments, suggestions, or questions leave in a review. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Leaf had been waiting for a half hour. The sun was at its peak and beat down on her mercilessly. Charmander stood by her side, holding his head proud and puffing his chest out. Not far away from them a trainer was taking the nugget bridge challenge, and seemed to be doing pretty good. Leaf glanced at the river lazily lapping at the side of bank, wishing she could jump in and go for a swim. She pulled out her pokedex and checked the time. 12:06. Blue was late.

"Got anything?" Leaf called over to Red.

Red was sitting on the edge of the river bank with a fishing pole in his hand. Pikachu was sprawled out next to him, probably napping, though Leaf wasn't positive. Red glanced over at her, a bored look on his face as he shook his head no. Unlike Leaf, Red did not find fishing to be very enjoyable. Leaf spotted a figure walking towards them in the distance and immediately straightened up. She crossed her arms, and put a scowl on her face as Blue approached her.

"You're late," She growled.

He shrugged in response, "You want to battle or what?"

"Ready Charmander?" Leaf smiled at her pokemon.

"Char!" He replied.

"So we'll have a three on three pokemon battle with no substitutions," Blue decided.

Leaf nodded in agreement.

"Okay, come on out Tyrogue,"

With a flash, a small bipedal pokemon emerged. Its feet and hips were a pale brown, while white bands that resembled athletic tape were wrapped around its wrists and stomach. Its brown eyes regarded Leaf cockilly as it jumped back and forth on its feet while it threw a couple punches into the air. Judging from its appearance and behavior, Leaf was willing to guess this was a fighting type pokemon. She glanced down at the lizard pokemon at her side and gave him a small nod.

"Char!" He roared, shooting a stream of flames into the air as he took his stance across from Tyrogue.

Red had stood up and was watching them now with his arms crossed. Pikachu sat on his shoulder, anticipating the battle eagerly.

"Ladies first," Blue said in a taunting voice.

"Scratch!" Leaf instructed.

Charmander rushed forward with a claw raised and delivered a swift blow to the fighting type pokemon. Before he could retreat, Tyrogue stuck out and punched Charmander right in the jaw. Charmander reeled back, his head spinning.

"Smokescreen!" Leaf commanded.

Charmander shot a black smog right at Tyrogue, engulfing it and the surrounding area. This gave Charmander a moment to recover from the punch. Charmander's open mouth began to glow red and a series of embers shoot into the smoke. Tyrogue let out a yelp as the fire type attack landed.

"Tackle!" Blue countered.

The purple pokemon charged through the smoke straight at Charmander. Charmander dodged just in time, and shot another ember attack at Tyrogue. Tyrogue nimbly dodged the attack.

"Low sweep,"

Tyrogue charged at Charmander and then kicked Charmander right in the gut sending him flying backwards and dangerously close to the river. Leaf was surprised, because as far as she knew low sweep was a pretty advanced move.

"Charmander, are you alright?" Leaf asked concerned.

Charmander gave her a firm nod and charged back into battle. At Leaf's command, he used ember once more. While Tyrogue was dodging, Charmander charged in and used scratch to finish it off. Tyrogue collapsed to ground unconscious. Blue scowled as he returned his pokemon and enlarged his next pokeball.

"Let's go Wartortle!" Blue tossed his pokeball into the air.

A blue turtle like pokemon who strongly resembled squirtle stood across from Charmander now, its fangs gleaming in a grin. It had a large fluffy white tail and two fluffy white ears. Leaf frowned, knowing that Charmander had the type disadvantage and also that Blue had already evolved his starter pokemon. Charmander puffed out his chest and glared at the water pokemon.

"Scratch!" Leaf called out

Charmander delivered a swift scratch to Wartortle's chest, but the attack did little damage. Leaf clenched her teeth in anticipation as Wartortle shot a stream of water at Charmander. Charmander jumped to the side and shot back an ember. Even though the attack hit, it seemed to do little to Wartortle.

"Rapid Spin!" Blue yelled.

Wartortle pulled into its shell as it began to spin in the air and fly at Charmander. Charmander shot an ember attack at Wartortle, but it was simply deflected. The rapid spin attack caught Charmander directly in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Charmander, now badly bruised and exhausted, struggled to his feet.

"Come on Charmander! You can do it!" Leaf encouraged her pokemon.

A fierce look of determination came over Charmander and the flame on his tail began to intensely burn. His body began to emit an orange glow, almost as though he were on fire. He opened his mouth and sent out an amazingly powerful stream of flames. Leaf gazed at her pokemon in amazement, not quite sure what was happening.

"Wow, Charmander's blaze ability! It greatly strengthens his fire type moves," Red explained, a small smirk on his face.

Leaf smiled down at her pokemon, who returned the look.

"Use ember!" Leaf commanded.

"Counter it with Water gun!"

The two attacks collided mid-air, each equally powerful. A stream of steam began to roll of the attacks, giving a small amount of coverage for Charmander and Leaf a chance to attack.

"Metal Claw!"

Charmander broke off from the attack and struck with amazing speed and new-found strength. Wartortle stumbled backwards, and while Charmander was close, he blasted the water pokemon with an ember attack. Wartortle seemed more agitated than anything else until his body was suddenly engulfed in flames. As soon as it come, it went. Leaf recognized this status condition almost immediately.

"Burn," She chuckled, feeling more proud of Charmander by the moment.

"Let's finish this Wartortle, use tackle!"

Wartortle rushed towards Charmander. Charmander tried to dodge, but he didn't have the strength from before and Wartortle slammed into him. Charmander fell to the ground unconscious. Leaf smiled as she returned her pokemon, thankful for its good effort. With one of his pokemon down, and one burned, Leaf definitely had the advantage. She enlarged her next pokeball and tossed it out onto the battlefield.

"Let's go Weedle!" Leaf cried.

The small bug pokemon appeared, its large eyes studying Wartortle anxiously. Wartortle wasted no time and charged at Weedle at once.

"String shot!"

Weedle shot a series of sticky strings at Wartortle, slowing it down enough for Weedle to dodge. Wartortle was about to counter when its body was briefly engulfed in flames again. For the first time, Wartortle looked strained as it turned to face Weedle.

"Water gun!" Blue called out.

Wartortle shot a powerful stream of water at Weedle and the attack hit the bug pokemon straight one. The flew backwards and looked very tired as it got back up. Suddenly Weedle began to glow a bright white. For a moment, Leaf thought Weedle was using an ability too, until it's form began to change as well. When the light cleared instead of the small worm like pokemon Leaf was used to seeing there was a yellow pokemon that looked like it was a cocoon. In awe, Leaf held her pokedex.

"Kakuna, the Cocoon pokemon. Almost incapable of moving, this pokemon hardens its shell to defend itself from predators." The pokedex informed her.

"Alright Kakuna, lets use poison sting!" Leaf smiled at her newly evolved pokemon.

Kakuna tensed, the stinger underneath it poised and ready to strike... but it didn't move. Leaf stared at her pokemon in confusion, not sure why it wasn't listening to her command for a second. Then she remembered the pokedex entry.

"Shoot," She cursed, looking at her now immobile pokemon.

"Wartortle, use water gun!" Blue commanded.

Wartortle, growing more tired by the second, fired up a powerful water gun attack as Kakuna stood there defenselessly.

"Harden!" Leaf blurted out in a panic.

Just as the stream of water released from the wartortle's mouth, Kakuna flashed a silvery color. The water attack made contact with her pokemon and sprayed off it harmlessly. The silver color faded from Kakuna and he stared determined over at Wartortle. Wartortle was suffering from being burned and Leaf prayed that Kakuna would be able to hold him off long enough.

"Use string shot!" Leaf yelled, hoping Kakuna was at least capable of this move.

Pointing its stinger at the water pokemon, Kakuna fired a spray of sticky strings at Wartortle. They hit the turtle pokemon, wrapping around its body and slowing it down. Wartortle trashed about, struggling to rid itself of the web.

"Rapid spin!"

Wartortle retreated into its spinning shell and shot at Kakuna. Kakuna hardened in defense, but the attack sent Kakuna flying backwards into a tree. The bug pokemon bounced off the tree, looking more weary by the moment. Suddenly, Wartortle was engulfed in flames for a brief moment. When the flames dispersed, the water pokemon fell to ground.

"Come back Wartortle. Let's go Spearow!" Blue hurled another pokeball out.

The ball opened in mid air and released the bird pokemon known as Spearow. It looked very similar to pidgey in coloring, but you could tell this pokemon was a bit bigger and more agitated. Glancing between the flying pokemon and her own, Leaf became unsure as to what her battle strategy would be. Spearow could easily just dive bomb Kakuna and Kakuna wouldn't be able to do anything defensively to stop it. There wasn't much Kakuna could do offensively either, besides shooting string shots at it.

"String shot!" Leaf called out.

"Dodge it using aerial ace!" Blue yelled in repsonse.

Kakuna used string shot attack, but Spearow nimbly avoided the attack and struck Kakuna at an amazing speed. Kakuna went flying and it didn't get back up. Leaf bite her lip as she returned her pokemon. She didn't think Rattatat would be able to do much against the flying type, which left her with only one other pokemon.

"Come on out!" Leaf called as she tossed her third pokeball in the air.

A small yellow pokemon standing on its two back legs now stood in front of Leaf. Its two hands were clutching its large head as though it had some type of headache. The pokemon had a large bill on its face and confused looking black eyes. Its feet were webbed and it had a small tail. Overall, the pokemon strongly resembled some type of duck.

"Psy? Psyduck?" The pokemon looked at Spearow quically.

Red admired Leaf's newest pokemon from the sidelines. Since neither pokemon had the type advantage, this battle could really go either way.

"Spearow use fury attack!" Blue yelled.

Spearow dove in and began to repeatedly peck and scratch Psyduck. The duck pokemon cried out in pain and covered its face with its hands.

"Use water gun Psyduck!" Leaf instructed.

Psyduck unleashed a power spray of water, hitting Spearow head on. The bird pokemon was pushed backwards and drenched in water. It took a moment to shake itself dry, and Leaf took advantage of that.

"Use confusion!" Leaf cried out.

Before Spearow could escape, Psyduck's eyes glowed blue and a blue energy surrounded Spearow. Suddenly, Spearow was thrown backwards and collided painfully into a tree. Spears struggled to get up, but once it did it flew forward and slammed into Psyduck with a quick attack before retreating back into the sky. Both pokemon were looking worn out by now, each covered in scratches and bruises while breathing heavily.

"Spearow, finish it off with aerial ace!" Blue called.

"Shoot it out of the sky with water gun!" Leaf countered.

Spearow tucked in its wings and dove at Psyduck while Psyduck simultaneously unleashed a water gun attack. At the last second, Spearow curled to the side, narrowly avoiding the water attack. It then slammed into Psyduck at full speed. Psyduck tumbled backwards and stayed down. Leaf stared at her fainted pokemon in shock, a sick feeling creeping into her. She returned her pokemon and glanced over at Red, whose face was expressionless. Blue stood them with a very smug look on his face while Spearow landed on his shoulder and let out a victorious caw.

"That was easier than taking candy from a baby," Blue taunted her.

Leaf opened her mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but decided against it. Blue really started to laugh now.

"Speechless, huh? Next time we battle, try to make it at least a little challenging," and with that he was walking away.

Leaf watched him walk away her heart sinking in her chest. She glanced down at the pokeball in her hand, feeling more like a failure by the moment. Red walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Leaf don't worry about it, Blue's just a jerk. You battled great," Red comforted her, giving her small smile.

Leaf looked down at the ground and just said, "I should go get my pokemon healed at the center."

Nurse Joy and her chanseys greeted the two with friendly smiles once they arrived at the pokemon center. Leaf walked up to counter and gave her a weak smile in return.

"Welcome to the pokemon center, how can I help you?" Joy asked.

"Would you please heal my pokemon?" Leaf replied.

"Certainly! Just place your pokeballs in the tray and I'll have them good as new in no time!" She said enthusiastically.

"Would you mind holding onto them for an hour or two? We are going to go out and get something to eat," Red piped up while Leaf was placing her pokeballs on the tray.

"Of course! I would be delighted to. You two have fun!" She smiled at them as she took the tray and handed it to a chansey.

Red grabbed Leaf's arm and pulled her away from the counter while she looked at him confused.

"What were you talking about?" She demanded, a little agitated.

"I thought since you were being such a debbie downer that some ice cream might cheer you up," Red explained.

"Well you're wrong," Leaf grumbled crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Come on Leaf, stop acting like that. We are going to get ice cream whether you like it or not," Red grabbed her forearm and began to pull her out the door.

Leaf tried to resist at first, but eventually just gave up and let him pull her through the city. The sun was smiling at them from the sky and the clouds formed puffy portraits of various pokemon. A flock of pidgey flew over them while a stray ratatat ran through the city streets and over to a little child with food. Leaf watched the child pet the pokemon and giggle as it nuzzled up against his leg. Red stopped at an outdoor stand with the words _The Cone_ carved into the top of it. The man behind the stand wore an apron and smiled at them.

"Hello! What can I get for you two?" He asked.

"I'll have a small twist cone, and Leaf what do you want?" Red turned to her, his brown eyes studying her own.

"I'll have a scoop of chocolate with oreo," Leaf mumbled.

The man fixed up both their orders quickly and Red paid him. Red lead her over to a empty picnic table and sat down across from her. Leaf took a small bite of her ice cream, and kept her eyes down. Red regarded her with concern as he ate his own ice cream. Leaf had a couple of small bites but mostly just played with her food.

"Come on Leaf, everyone loses once in a while. You can't get down on yourself just because of this one battle," Red said.

"I know," Leaf muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"Look, Blue's just a jerk, you'll beat him next time. You just need to train and practice," He encouraged her.

"I know. I know I can beat him," Leaf sighed.

"Then what's wrong?" Red cocked his head to the side.

"I just..." Leaf trailed off.

"You know you can trust me Leaf, but I can only help if I know what's wrong,"

"It's just that maybe Blue is right. Not about him being a way better trainer then me and all, but about us. Maybe I really am slowing you down and holding you back. I mean, back in Pewter, you probably would have moved on already if I hadn't lost the battle and earlier when I got sick and you had to wait for me to get better. You probably would have beat this gym by now and been on your way to the next," Leaf's voice cracked, and she suddenly became very ashamed.

"Leaf, you are not holding me back," Red said very seriously.

"How do you know? You said it yourself at Professor Oak's lab. Maybe it's best if we don't travel together any more..."

Red paused for a moment, wanting more then anything to tell Leaf about everything, but he knew that he couldn't. That the only reason he didn't want to travel with her was to protect her.

"Look at me Leaf," he said, only continued when her big brown eyes met his, "I like traveling around with you. I was wrong back then, and _I_ didn't want to get in your way. I was nervous about holding you back. So what if you lost to Brock and we had to wait one more day in Pewter City? Some time along the road I'm going to lose to a gym leader and you're going to have to wait for me. It happens. You can't win everything. I'm traveling around Kanto to experince amazing things, make new friends, and to become the best. You are making this experince so much more worthwhile, so don't ever feel yourself again that you are just dead weight."

Leaf gave him a small smile and just nodded. Red got up and walked over to her as she stood up. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He hugged her back and they stood there like a moment before Leaf pulled back. She looked up at him smiling.

"You're the best Red," She said.

He gave her a smile and said, "Yeah, I know."

**Yay! Another chapter done! I don't know about you guys, but writing this chapter just made me happy. On a totally unrelated note, my basketball team made it to state! Not trying to brag or anything, but I'm just super excited so I thought I'd share! So that's why I didn't have time to post this chapter sooner. I promise I will do my best to be posting more after the season is over though. Anyways, leave a review with your thoughts, reactions, or etc! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"So you're my newest challenger, don't look like much of a challenge," The gym leader, Misty, said, looking over Red.

Her big blue eyes were narrowed as she watched him. Misty at first glance looked like a friendly teenage girl. She had bright orange hair pulled into a side pony and a pretty smile. She wore a pair of blue jean shorts, suspenders, and a yellow crop top. To finish her outfit off she had one a pair of faded tennis shoes. That was Red's first impression of her too, but in the last minute they'd known each other, Misty had successfully insulted him three times already.

"Nice to meet you too," Red grumbled, pikachu huffing indignantly on his shoulder.

"Are you ready to get this started, or are we gonna be waiting here all day?" Misty growled.

Something had put her in a bad mood, and she was taking it out on him. Red shifted uncomfortably under her glare and just nodded.

"Good, follow me," Misty turned and lead him through the gym. On either sides of him were an assortment of aquatic pokemon swimming around in aquariums. A piplup raced through the water a seel hot on its tail. Red looked at all the different pokemon in awe, forgetting about Misty's sour attitude for a moment.

"Pretty amazing huh," Misty had stopped walking and stood next to Red, admiring the collection of water type pokemon.

"Yeah, they are. What do you even use these many water type pokemon for?" Red asked, glancing over at her.

"My sister's and I perform shows that feature different water type pokemon. Many of the pokemon you see here are theirs, but a few are some that were taken here to recover from injuries. Sometimes Nurse Joy will bring over a few beat up water type pokemon and we let them stay here until they are well enough to be released back into the wild," Misty explained.

"That really cool," Red remarked, noticing now that a couple of the pokemon did look bruised and beaten up.

"Let's get back to our battle," Misty said as she continued walking.

The orange-haired gym leader led Red into a room with a huge pool. On one end of the pool was a giant diving board, and on the two sides were small platforms. In the pool there were several circular platforms. Bleachers encircled the battling area, though only one seat was taken by a teenager Red's age. Red frowned, wondering where Leaf was and whether or not she had remembered about the battle. A referee stood opposite the diving board, two flags in his hand. Misty walked over to one of the platforms, and Red walked to the one opposite hers.

"Three pokemon are allowed to each trainer. Unlimited substitutions are allowed, and the first person to knock out all three of the others pokemon in the winner. Let the battle begin!"

Misty enlarged a pokeball and released her first pokemon. A white and orange fish emerged from the water, its large horn in the center of its head glistening. It cried its name, goldeen, proudly and waited for Red to release his own pokemon. From the corner of his eye, Red could see Leaf rushing up the bleachers and sliding into a seat, Charmander trailing behind her. Red couldn't help but smile as he released his own pokemon.

"Lets go Bulbasaur!" Red's starter pokemon emerged on one of the circular platforms floating in the water.

"Start us off with a water pulse!" Misty called out.

Goldeen opened its mouth, a sphere of water forming, and shot the energy at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur jumped to another platform, dodging the water attack with relative ease.

"Quick, use razor leaf," Red instructed.

Bulbasaur sent out a flurry of leaves, but only a couple made contact with the water pokemon before it retreated under water.

"Use peck," Misty yelled.

Red was taken back, wondering how Misty intended for Goldeen to use the move. Suddenly, Goldeen shot from the water and struck Bulbasaur hard. Bulbasaur staggered dangerously close to the water as Goldeen escaped back to the safety of the water. _I guess thats how_ he thought bitterly.

"Brace yourself Bulbasaur,"

Bulbasaur nodded, now on high alert. Once more, Goldeen shot out of the water at Bulbasaur, but Bulbasaur swatted the fish out of the air with a vine. Goldeen crashed back into the water, looking worn down.

"Water pulse once more!" Misty cried out.

Goldeen's head appeared and it began to charge up for the water attack once more.

"Deflect it with vine whip and then retaliate with razor leaf,"

Bulbasaur's vines formed an X just before the water pulse hit them. Quickly, Bulbasaur used razor leaf, but Goldeen managed to dodge the attack.

"Goldeen use horn attack on the platform and then water pulse,"

Goldeen disappeared beneath the water and a moment later struck the platform. It rocked badly, causing Bulbasaur to lose his balance and teeter towards the edge. Before he could dodge, Goldeen fired a water pulse. The attack struck Bulbasaur and was just enough to send him over the edge. Fear gripped Red as he watched his pokemon fall into the water with a splash. Bulbasaur's head bobbed to the surface as the pokemon struggled to swim towards the platform. Behind him, Goldeen advanced quickly on its prey.

"Bulbasaur return!" Red recalled his pokemon just before Goldeen struck.

Red let out a sigh of relief. He turned to Pikachu and gave him a nod. Pikachu hopped off Red's shoulder and onto a platform. The electric pokemon's cheeks sparked dangerously.

"Use thundershock!" Red called.

With surprising speed, Pikachu unleashed the electric attack. Its struck Goldeen head on, knocking it out. Misty fumed as she returned her pokemon and enlarged her next pokeball.

"Come on out Staryu!" Misty released her next pokemon.

A brown star shaped pokemon with a red jewel in the center of the star appeared. Without wasting a second, it began to spin and hurled itself at Pikachu. Pikachu nimbly jumped to another platform, dodging the rapid spin attack. Staryu sent out a powerful spray of water that struck Pikachu.

"Pikachu use tail whip, and then quick attack," Red called out.

Pikachu cutely wagged its tail, distracting Staryu for a moment before it charged forward and slammed into Staryu. The star shaped pokemon fell into the water and reappeared a few moments later.

"Psywave!" Misty called out.

Jumping back onto the platform, Staryu shot a brightly multi-colored beam at Pikachu. The electric pokemon dodged the move and then fired a thundershock at Staryu. The attack hit, causing Staryu to take a lot of damage.

"Use recover!" Misty instructed.

Staryu glowed brightly for a moment, and when the light faded it looked almost as good as new. Red scowled, knowing this move could prove to be a problem.

"Pikachu, use thunder wave!" Red yelled.

Pikachu sent out a wave of electricity that struck Staryu and caused the water pokemon to be surrounded by a brief surge of electricity. The energy faded, but an occasional wave of electricity would dance over its body.

"Use psywave once more," Misty yelled.

Staryu used the physic move once more, and this time it struck Pikachu. Pikachu stumbled backwards, anger flashing across its face.

"Use electro ball,"

Pikachu's body surged yellow with electricity before it before to gather into a ball at Pikachu's tail. Then, Pikachu jumped into the air and flipped before hurling the ball of electricity at Staryu. Staryu attempted to dodge the move, but a wave of electricity paralyzed it. The electric attack hit its mark, knocking Staryu unconscious. Cursing, Misty returned her pokemon and enlarged her last pokemon.

"Lets see how you do against Starmie," She smirked at Red as she released her pokemon.

Like Staryu, Starmie was shaped as a star, but Starmie had 10 points instead of 5. Starmie was a violet color and a red jewel in the center of its body.

"Starmie use water gun!" Misty commanded.

Starmie shot at powerful stream of water at Pikachu. Pikachu managed to dodge the water attack and then retaliated with a thundershock attack. Starmie took the attack, but it looked relatively unharmed.

"Starmie use swift attack," Misty yelled.

Starmie fired an array of sharp stars at Pikachu, hitting the electric pokemon and pushing it back. Pikachu took a step back, covering its face from the assault with its hands. Pikachu took another step back, only this time Pikachu's foot slipped on the edge of the platform. The electric mouse tumbled backwards into the water with a small splash. Fear clenched Red as his pokemon disappeared beneath the surface. Without hesitation, Starmie jumped into the water and charged at Pikachu. Pikachu surfaced, gasping for air as its head swiveled around, trying to find its opponent. Pikachu let out a cry of pain as Starmie slammed into him, and sent out a surge of electricity. The electricity shocked Starmie, but it didn't stop it from hitting Pikachu once more with enough force to send it flying out of the water. Pikachu's small unconscious body landed on a platform. He returned the pokemon and enlarged Bulbasaur's pokeball.

"Finish it Bulbasaur!" Red released the grass type.

"Bulba, Bulbasaur!"

The two pokemon faced off, and the tension was only broken when Misty yelled out a command. Starmie began to spin rapidly and shot at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur cried out in pain as Starmie struck him. His foot teetered on the edge of the platform and Red feared Bulbasaur would once more topple over the edge. Luckily, Bulbasaur managed to keep his balance. He lashed out with his vines, striking Starmie head on. Starmie faltered, but retaliated with a water gun attack. Bulbasaur leapt to safety on another platform.

"Bulbasaur use razor leaf!" Red yelled.

"Counter it with psywave!" Misty called in response.

Bulbasaur fired a razor leaf attack that was meet by Starmie's psywave. The two attack collided with each other for a moment before the psywave attack broke through and struck Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur flew backwards, barely landing on the platform directly behind the one he had been on moments before. The grass pokemon struggled to stand up, covered in bruises and scratches.

"Come on Bulbasaur, you can do it!"

"Saur!" Bulbasaur cried out, his body beginning to glow white.

Bulbasaur began to glow even brighter, and his body began to change. He grew larger, and large leaves grew from underneath his bulb. When the light faded, an ivysaur stood in front of Red. Its bulb had turned pink and darker green spots dotted his body. It glanced back at Red and gave him a fanged grin. Red couldn't help but smile himself.

"Alright Ivysaur! Use razor leaf, and then leech seed,"

Razor sharp leaves shot at Starmie, but the water type pokemon spun out of the way.

It couldn't evade the leech seed attack though. The seeds sprouted on Starmie and vines wrapped around it, sucking its energy out.

"Recover!" Misty cried out panicked.

Starmie's body glowed brightly for a moment. Ivysaur assaulted Starmie with a babard of razor leaves. Starmie flinched, stumbling backwards.

"To the water!" Misty instructed.

Starmie turned and jumped into the water. Ivysaur tensed, preparing for another attack. After a moment of tense waiting, Starmie jumped out of the water and shot at psywave at Ivysaur. Ivysaur jumped away, barely dodging the attack.

"Use vine whip to grab it!" Red commanded.

Ivysaur's vines whipped out and wrapped around Starmie. Starmie struggled to break Ivysaur's grip, but it was no use. Red smiled, knowing he had Starmie beaten.

"Use razor leaf, and finish it off with vine whip!" Red called out.

Ivysaur fired of a series of razor leaf attacks, each hitting Starmie. Starmie cried out in pain, and finally Ivysaur flung Starmie. Starmie hit the water hard, and then it floated to the surface unconscious. Misty praised her pokemon for its hard work as she returned it. She then looked up at Red, a conflicted look on her face. She walked around and met Red in front of bleachers.

"I guess I was wrong about you, you really do deserve this badge. Sorry about earlier, my sisters were so annoying this morning and some jerk-" Her eyes flickered to the teenager in the stands, " really pissed me off yesterday."

Misty handed him a badge shaped like a rain drop. Smiling, Red took the badge and looked down at Ivysaur with pride. He glanced over as he heard Leaf thundering down the bleachers. She wore a huge smile on her face and was overjoyed at the sight of Ivysaur.

"Congrats, great battle, both of you! You too Ivysaur! Look at you!" She crouched down and rubbed Ivysaur behind the ear.

"Hey Leaf! Is this a friend of yours?" Misty smiled at Leaf.

"Yeah, he's pretty good isn't he? Thanks for those fishing tips, by the way. I caught a psyduck! I'll show it to you at our battle tomorrow," Leaf winked at Misty, causing her to chuckle.

Charmander cried enthusiastically out in agreement.

"Don't expect me to be a pushover though," Misty gave Leaf a friendly shove.

"Thanks again for the battle," Red nodded at Misty.

"Yeah, and I look forward to ours," Misty replied.

Leaf and Red walked out the door, their starter pokemon trailing behind them, talking to each other. Behind them, the doors were flung open, creating a loud noise. They glanced behind them to see the teenager from the stands approaching them. He stood about Red's height and had a muscular build. His brown hair was neatly combed to the side and his hazel eyes were locked on Leaf. He strode towards them with an air of confidence. Based on his clothing, Red was guessing this guy came from a wealthy family. He wore a gray button up shirt, silver tie, and a black vest. He had on blue dress pants and nice black shoes. He looked as though he was planning on attending a wedding.

"Hello there love, you truly are a beautiful rose," In one swift motion he knelt in front of her, took her hand and kissed it.

Leaf stared at him, too shocked to move. He then turned to Red, a look of disgust on his face.

"You got lucky with that battle, but up against me you'd stand no match. You aren't worthy enough to be traveling with this beauty," He glared at Red.

The two stared at this newcomer in shock, the glanced at each other.

"I would love to stay and talk, especially with you Rose, but I have to go. You can call me Gray!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran off.

Red and Leaf just stood there for a moment, completely speechless. Then Red began to laugh.

"You truly are the fairest of them all _Rose," _He teased her.

Leaf punched Red's shoulder, "Shut up."

"But who was that guy?" Leaf wondered as she watched him grow smaller and smaller.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that won't be the last time that we see him,"

**Yeah! Another chapter finished! I know this chapter is a lot shorter than most of my other ones, so sorry about that. The OC fetured in this chapter, Gray, is Red Alfa's, so thanks for submitting him. I'm pumped that Bulbasaur finally evolved, and hopefully Charmander will be evolving soon as well. Anyways, leave a review with your thoughts, opionions, suggestions and what you think of Gray. Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Red let out a sigh, his hand clenching into a fist. Frustration coursed through him as he stared at the pokeball he held in his other hand. Training with sandshrew hadn't exactly gone well... but it did go better than last time. At least sandshrew hadn't tried attacking him this time, he just simply ignored every command that Red told him. Even after winning his second badge, sandshrew still didn't respect him enough to listen.

How would Red ever become a pokemon master if his own pokemon didn't even listen? And he needed to become a pokemon master, it was the only way to ensure he could protect those he cared about. His thoughts wandered to his mom. Why hadn't team rocket already captured her? It seemed like back at Mt. Moon that they knew who he was. He wanted nothing more than to call his mom and tell her about everything, but he knew that wouldn't go well. She would definitely call the police, and according to the man, Team Rocket was the police, or at least part of it.

And then there was Leaf. Leaf was in a lot of danger because of him, only she had no idea. Sometimes Red wondered if it would just be best if he told Leaf that Team Rocket was hunting them. He didn't want to ruin her pokemon journey though and cause her to be anxious. Red knew that Leaf would ask him a lot of questions, many of which he wouldn't answer. Red didn't know how Leaf would take his secret either, or if she would even want to associate with him after he told her. He hoped thta Leaf would stay loyal to him, but he wasn't positive. Leaf's lack of knowledge could also be a sheild to her if Team Rocket did ever capture her. Yet, Red still felt it unfair that he didn't tell Leaf anything. Maybe one day he would, but not anytime soon.

The door opened with a creak behind him, pulling Red out of his thoughts. Leaf stood in the doorway, Psyduck peering around from behind her leg at him. Red quickly shrunk his pokeball and clipped it back onto his belt. She smiled when she saw him and walked over to him with a skip in her step. Psyduck waddled after her. Leaf always seemed to have one of her pokemon out of their pokeballs and walking around with her.

"Hey Red, you just about ready to go?" Leaf asked.

"Yeah, I was just finishing up here," Red nodded at her.

"Great! Lets go eat lunch first and then head over. to th gym. That way I won't be hungry during the battle and I can tell you my plan," Leaf explained.

"Okay, sounds good. I'll go get my stuff and meet you by the door," Red agreed.

10 minutes later both Red and Leaf were walking out of the pokemon center. Leaf had returned Psyduck and now Charmander cheerfully walked by her side. When Red asked why, Leaf explained that she didn't want Psyduck getting tired before the battle. They found a nice little restaurant and after ordering sat down in a booth.

"Okay, so obviously I won't be using Charmander in the battle because he has a major type disadvantage. I also don't want to risk him falling in the water. That leaves me with Rattata, Kakuna, and Psyduck. Since none of my pokemon have the type advantage over water types I'm in a little bit of a sticky situation," Leaf paused a moment to take a sip of water.

"I'm a little worried about Kakuna because he can't really swim. I'll send out Psyduck to defeat Goldeen, because Kakuna can't really move and Rattata doesn't know any special attacks. I'm really banking on Psyduck winning against Goldeen, but he should be able to. I've been working on his speed, in and out of water. I know that Goldeen is a very graceful swimmer and that horn can be deadly, so Psyduck is going to try and stay out of the water. That way we can lure Goldeen out of the water and Psyduck will hopefully be able to get some good hits. After Psyduck defeats Goldeen, I'll use Kakuna against Staryu. I considered using Kakuna against Starmie because bug types are good against psychic, but psychic are good against poison, and Kakuna doesn't really know many bug moves anyways. Kakuna will use string shot to slow Staryu down, and then use poison sting until Staryu becomes poisoned. To counter Staryu's recover, I'll switch out Kakuna with Psyduck and have him use disable," Leaf explained.

"A lot of your strategy is banking on Psyduck," Red pointed out.

"Yeah, I know,"

"Well, what happens if he doesn't beat Goldeen?" Red questioned.

"Then I'll wing it. I've been pretty good at that in the past," Leaf shrugged.

Red chuckled at her response. Just then the food was brought by a pretty waiter with a big smile. She handed Red and Leaf their food and was gone.

"So, what are you going to do about Starmie?" Red asked.

"Starmie is up to Rattata. Their speed while match up pretty well I think, but Rattata will probably be a little faster. He learned Hyper Fang the other day, so that will really help. Like Staryu, I'll probably use Kakuna to poison and lower Starmie's speed with string shot," Leaf finished.

"Well, sounds good to me. I'm sure you'll do great," Red encouraged her.

Leaf flashed him a smile and Charmander cried his approval. After they finished eating, they paid and headed to the gym. Leaf wondered if that weird guy, Gray, would be watching her battle today. Despite him totally creeping her out, she couldn't help but be curious about him. Misty greeted them at the door with a friendly smile.

"Hey Leaf, you ready for our battle?" Misty said

"I was born ready!" Leaf yelled in reply.

"Great. Follow me Leaf, and Red you can head up to the bleachers," Misty lead Leaf down a different hallway.

Red found the bleachers easy enough. They were completely empty, so he choose a seat smack-dab in the middle. He watched as Leaf took her spot across from Misty, their eyes both gleaming in anticipation. The referee raised both flags in the air and then brought them down swiftly. Misty hurled her first pokeball into the air and released Staryu. Red noticed Leaf hesitate for a moment before sending out Kakuna.

"Staryu use water gun!" Misty commanded.

"Harden!" Leaf shouted in response.

Staryu unleashed a spray of water that shot at Kakuna. Kakuna's shell flashed, and then turned metallic grey. The attack struck the bug pokemon, but it seemed to do little damage against his hardened shell. Red realized that as long as Staryu continued to use moves from a distance away that Kakuna could do little to nothing. Leaf seemed to come to this realization as well.

"Kakuna return!" She held up her pokeball and Kakuna was sucked back in.

After a moment's thought she cried, "Alright Psyduck, come on out!"

The small yellow duck appeared on a circular platform, clutching his head and looking a little confused.

"Staryu, use rapid spin!"

Staryu shot towards Psyduck, who still wore the same confused expression. Leaf cried out for her pokemon to use confusion. Psyduck's eyes glowed purple and suddenly Staryu was thrown off course. Instead of hitting Psyduck, it smashed into one of the platforms. Staryu struggled to get up, dazed from the psychic attack.

"Fury swipes!" Leaf yelled.

Psyduck charged forward and repeatedly struck Staryu with rapid blows. Before Staryu could retaliate, Psyduck retreated back to his own platform.

"Recover!" Misty commanded.

"Disable!" Leaf called out immediately.

Staryu attempted to recover, but abruptly stopped when its body was surrounded by a blue aura. Leaf smiled to herself as Psyduck fired a quick water fun at Staryu in its confusion. Quickly, Leaf returned Psyduck.

"Way to go Psyduck. Now let's go Rattata!" She hollered as the small purple mouse appeared.

Red intently watched the battle, impressed with Leaf's psyduck and her strategy. Pikachu began to pulled at Red's shirt sleeve and urgently said its name. Red glanced down at his pokemon, a curious look on his face. Pikachu motioned for the door and then was running down the bleachers. Red, sensing something was up, ran after the electric pokemon. He chased Pikachu as the small pokemon raced through the halls and then out the front doors.

It was a rather dreary day outside, with the sun hiding behind heavy gray clouds. An glass shattering shriek rang through the air just as two men in all black sprinted by Red, so close they almost ran him over. Startled, Red took a step back. He glanced over at the owner of the scream, a middle ages woman with dark brown hair who was clutching her heart in one hand and pointing a shaky, yet accusing finger at the men dressed in black. Red noticed blue and brown marks on the womans face and blood trickling from a cut in her swollen lip.

"They stole my precious aipom!" She wailed.

Red turned back towards the men running, and sure enough a black bag was slung over one of the men's shoulder with something struggling to escape in it. Red took off running towards the men, determined to get back the missing pokemon. He could hear them laughing as they rounded a corner and ran towards the outskirts of town. Red was just far enough away from the crooks that they didn't notice him following them. The two began to slow down, and to Red's surprise, so did he.

"Was that easy or what! Not only did we snag that aipom, but he managed to grab this," One of the men held up a disk that Red recognized as a TM, as he talked victouriously to his friend.

Red took a closer look at the two crooks, noticing the giant red R on their shirts that marked them as Team Rocket grunts. Fear creeped up on him, as it did every time he came in contact with Team Rocket, but he pushed the feeling aside. They soon were walking into a forested area, and Red was sneaking just far enough behind them that they wouldn't notice. The muddy ground sucked at his sneakers every time he moved to hide behind another tree. Once one of the grunts heard as Red's sneaker let out a slurping noise, but luckily Red was hidden behind a large oak tree.

"You hear that Boss is still looking for that one kid?" One of them asked, striking up a conversation.

For some reason it felt like every time that Red got anywhere near Team Rocket they were talking about him. On his shoulder, he felt Pikachu tense.

"Yeah, that kid is one lucky duck. I heard Arianna had an encounter with him in Mt. Moon, but he slipped away from her. He was traveling with some girl. We have a rough sketch of the two" The taller of the two grunts said.

"If I were the boss I would just grab the kid's family and make him come to us,"

"Good thing you're not in charge then. Grabbing this kid's mom would draw a lot of unwanted attention to Team Rocket. There are other ways to find the little twerp,"

"What do you think we would get if we actually managed to catch the kid?"

"Oh boy, he would promote us to admirals in a heartbeat,"

"Do you think they'll be pleased with this aipom?"

"Probably, I think that they are pretty rare in Kanto,"

They walked into a clearing where a very large and nice tent had been set up and a jeep was parked not far from it. The two men walked into the tent nonchalantly. Red peered out from behind a tree and studied the layout for a moment. He would need to create some type of diversion to get the two out of the tent, assuming those two were the only ones in the tent. Red not only wanted to save the aipom, but he also wanted to see what type of information they had on him and how much danger he was actually in. He held his breath for a moment and listened, but it sounded like there were only two people in the tent. He glanced at the jeep and then at Pikachu.

"Pikachu do you think you could be a diversion?" Red asked his pokemon.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed enthusiastically.

"Okay, here's what I want you to do. I need you to blow up that Jeep. When those two grunts run out to see what's going on, I need you to fire a thunder bolt at them, but don't hit them. Then run out into the forest, but make sure they follow you. Lead them away from the tent, and let them follow you closely, but not close enough to be a threat. If at any time you feel threatened or that you're in trouble then get out of there. Meet me back there in 10 minutes. You understand?" Red asked, a serious look on his face.

Pikachu nodded a look of determination on his face.

"Good,"

Red studied the tent for a moment and then turned and nodded at Pikachu. Pikachu nodded back before running out into the clearing. At a safe distance, he charged up his electricity and unleashed a powerful blast right at the Jeep's tank. The Jeep almost instantaneously exploded. Flame licked the sky as they crackled to life on the car, a wave of heat rolling off it.

"What the hell?!" One of the grunts yelled as he ran out of the tent, the other a step behind him.

The look on their faces when they saw the wreckage that was once their car was priceless. Red couldn't help but smirk, feeling that those crooks were getting what they deserved. Their eyes shifted from the burning car to Pikachu, a look of anger crossing their faces.

"Why you little rat," The shorter grunt snarled.

Pikachu shot a bolt of electricity that narrowly missed them. They reached for their pokeballs, but Pikachu was off, sprinting through the forest. Without hesitation, they both chased after Pikachu. Red felt a tinge of worry for Pikachu, but he assured himself that his pokemon would be fine. He glanced in their direction, and then sprinted towards the tent entrance. Inside was a table in the center of the tent and various papers scattered across it. Two beds were in the back corner, and in between them was a wide-eyed aipom trapped in a small cage.

Red approached the table, quickly skimming for any papers that looked like they could be about him. He sighed as he came up empty handed, but then he noticed a slim file sitting on one of the chairs. He grabbed it and opened it. Inside was a sketch of that somewhat resembled him, and behind him a rough sketch of Leaf. His stomach clenched when he saw her, the picture reminding him once more of how he was putting her in danger. He quickly stuffed the file in his bag, and then hurried towards the aipom.

The aipom recoiled and backed away as Red neared it. He smiled at it kindly, as he examined the lock on the cage. It was a key lock. Red swore under his breath as he glanced around for the key.

"It'll be alright buddy. I'll get you out of there," He assured the pokemon.

He raced back over to the table and began to shift papers around until he finally found the key. He crouched down and was struggling to get the key into the lock when he heard the pounding of footsteps behind him.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing?"

* * *

Kakuna faced Starmie, both pokemon bruised and tired. Leaf bit her lip, knowing this battle was looking worse every second. After Rattata had taken out Staryu, Leaf had used Psyduck to defeat Goldeen. However, Starmie had easily defeated the weakened psyduck, leaving Leaf with Kakuna and Rattata, both of which were tired and in bad shape. Rattata had put up a good fight, but Starmie ultimately defeated him as well. Kakuna had done a good job against Starmie, but Leaf knew he wouldn't last much longer and Starmie could always just use recover. She was really going to need a miracle here to win this battle.

"Starmie use water gun!" Misty cried out.

"Harden!" Leaf yelled.

The water attack struck Kakuna, causing little damage, but tiring him out even more.

"Come on Kakuna! Don't give up, you can do it!" Leaf encouraged her pokemon.

"Kakuna!" Her pokemon cried.

Its body began to glow white and take on a new form. Leaf felt a wave of excitement and pride wash over her as she recognized the transformation. Wings sprouted from its back and legs grew from its abdomen. Kakuna's body split into three parts, the bottom tipped with a stinger. Kakuna now had two large red eyes and a pair of antenna on top of its head. Its front two legs had drills on them, and the bug pokemon's abdomen was stripped black. Overall, the pokemon looked very wasp like.

"Beedrill!" The newly evolved pokemon cried.

Leaf smiled broadly at her Beedrill.

"Alright Beedrill!" Leaf congratulated her pokemon.

Beedrill turned to face Starmie. Starmie fired a swift attack at Beedrill, but Beedrill dodged it gracefully. Beedrill then charged forward and stabbed at Starmie with the stingers on its feet. Starmie cried out in pain, barely conscious after the super effect attack hit. Starmie pulsed purple, indicating that the pokemon was poisoned.

"Hurry, recover!" Misty instructed.

Starmie used the move to regain health, but it was obvious the water pokemon was still tired from battling.

"String shot, and then use twin needle," Leaf instructed, recognizing the new move her pokemon had use.

Beedrill shot out sticky strings and they wrapped around Starmie. Slowed down, Starmie was unable to dodge twin needle. Starmie staggered backwards, and then pulsed purple once more. With a cry it fell down unconscious. Leaf let out a victorious cry.

"Way to go Beedrill!" Leaf praised her pokemon, grinning from ear to ear.

"Beedrill!" Beedrill cried happily.

Leaf returned the bug pokemon and jogged over to Misty. Misty was smiling as well as she pulled out the familiar tear drop shaped badge.

"Congratulations Leaf! You really deserved that win. Your Psyduck was really amazing. If you want, I could help you with some training for it," Misty suggested.

"Really? That would be awesome!" Leaf agreed.

"Of course. You can come over anytime tomorrow and I'll show you a few tricks," Misty winked at her playfully.

"Thank you so much! I'll be there," Leaf promised.

She turned to look for Red in the stands, realizing for the first time that he wasn't there. Leaf frowned, glancing around for him. A part of her was hurt that he left her battle, but she was also concerned for him.

"Did you see Red leave?" Leaf asked.

"No, sorry," Misty replied, a look of worry on her face.

"I'm sure he's fine. Thanks again for the battle," Leaf waved at her, and then walked out.

Leaf walked out to see the sun peaking out from behind gray clouds. She then noticed the red and blue flashing lights that signified a police officer. The sound of shouts could be heard from inside, mostly by what sounded like a hysterical woman. Fear crept into Leaf, as she looked around for her friend, replacing her feeling of excitement. It was unlike Red to just run off and not tell her where he went, especially in the middle of one of her gym battles.

"Red, where are you?" Leaf whispered.

* * *

Red's first instinct was to run, and his second was to fight. Letting out a sigh, he stood up and turned around to face the man standing behind him. The giant red R on his shirt was the first thing Red noticed about him, and the second was his several missing teeth. The man was making a face as though he had smelled something rotten, and his lips were curled back, revealing his poorly cared for teeth. He really needed to go see a dentist.

"I said, what the hell are you doing in my tent?" The man growled.

The stench of the man's breathe was horrid enough to curdle milk. Red, trying not to gag replied, "Well, if you havn't noticed, I'm trying to free this aipom."

"And why do you think you can do that?" The man took a step closer to Red.

"Well it's not yours," Red raised his hand to cover his nose.

"It is now. I suggest you get the hell out of my tent before I throw you out," He snarled, his beady brown eyes narrowed.

"Not without this aipom. What happened to your partner?" Red asked, trying to buy himself some time.

"He had to take care of some buisness. Now I'm only going to say this one more time, get out!" He screamed the last part in Red's face, spraying spit all over his face.

Red, coughing and just about in tears, wiped the saliva away from his face with the back of his hand. In one fluid and quick motion, Red grabbed a pokeball, enlarged it and released the pokemon inside with one hand and shoved the man away with the other. Pidgeotto appeared in the air between them, the bird pokemon giving the rocket grunt a fierce look. The man's eyes widened in shock and before he could say anything, Red inssued a command.

"Pidgeotto, use gust!"

The bird pokemon began to rapidly beat its wings, sending a powerful gust of wind at him. The man held his ground for only a moment before he was thrown out of the tent entrance. A flurry of papers were thrown into the room and the once clean area was now scattered with documents. Red quickly turned and unlocked the door on Aipom's cage. The pokemon jumped out and scurried onto Red's shoulder in fear.

"Okay buddy, let's get you back home,"

Red then turned to Pidgeotto, "I need you to search the forest and make sure Pikachu is alright."

The pokemon nodded as they walked out of the tent. The grunt was leaned up against the tree, moaning and cursing. Red enlarged another pokeball and sent out Ivysaur as Pidgeotto flew off.

"Ivysaur, why don't you put him to sleep with sleep powder," Red commanded.

"Ivy, Ivysaur!" The pokemon replied as it sent out a cloud of powder over the man.

He protested for a moment, and then passed out. Red searched in the side pocket of his bag for a moment before he found what he was looking for.

"Here, you need these more than I do," He said, tossing a pack of breath mints into the grunt's lap.

Red turned his head when he heard somebody crashing through the forest. The second grunt appeared, his face a mask of anger as he weaved through the trees toward Red. Ivysaur stood protectivly infront of Red, his lips curled back into a fierce snarl. The grunt glowered at Red as he huffed and puffed, but what really caught Red's eye was the black bag he had slung over his shoulder. Pikachu.

"Looks like you find something that belongs to me, and I found something that belongs to you," The grunt said, nodding to Aipom, causing the little pokemon to recoil.

Red said nothing, his heart hammering inside his chest as he clenched his jaw. What was he thinking? Sending out Pikachu by himself to hold of two grunts. He was such an idiot.

"I'll offer you a deal. I'll give you back your troublesome Pikachu if you give me the aipom," The grunt continued.

Before Red could even reply, a vine wrapped around aipom and ripped him from Red's shoulder. Red turned in shock to see a tall green pokemon with two leaf like hands now clutching the struggling aipom. The pokemon had a flat circular head with teeth jutting out of its oversized mouth.

"Carnivine!" The pokemon cried happily as it rushed over to the grunt.

"Give me back Pikachu now," Red growled.

"Well, you see, you kinda BLEW UP MY CAR!" The grunt yelled the last part.

Red's lips curled back into a snarl as anger boiled inside of him. Before he could command Ivysaur to attack her heard a loud _smack_. The grunt stumbled forward before collapsing to the ground, revealing Leaf, who stood behind him holding a very large stick in her hands. She was breathing heavily, her hair was a mess, and her clothes stained, and Red had never been happier to see her.

"Car!" The grass pokemon yelled angerly at Leaf, two vines appearing from it's sides.

"Otto!"

Pidgeotto appeared from the trees and dive bombed Carnivine, striking him hard with a wing attack. Carnivine collapsed to the ground and Aipom flew from the pokemon's arms into the air. Red rushed forward and and grabbed Aipom before he hit the the ground. Aipom tightly clutched Red in fear, the purple pokemon almost in tears. Red thanked both of his pokemon quietly before returning them to their pokeballs. Leaf quickly untied the black bag and pulled out a very tattered and worn pikachu.

"Hey there buddy," Leaf conformted the pokemon as she delicately held it in her hands.

"How did you find me?" Red asked.

"I heard a woman wailing about some crooks running off with her aipom into the forest. I figured you followed them and I followed your tracks in the mud. Then I heard an explosion," Leaf finished, never looking up from Pikachu.

"Well, thanks," Red replied.

She was looking down at Pikachu with eyes full off concern, so it surprised Red moments later when she looked up at him with her brown eyes narrowed almost to slits.

"What were you thinking?" She growled.

"Pikachu heard yelling and lead me outside when I saw them running away with this aipom and I had to help," Red explained, shifting uncomftable under Leaf's stare.

"I don't care, next time you go for help. You hear me?"

"Team Rocket has infultrated the police, they can't be trusted," Red tried to explain.

"Then wait for me! Stop my battle for heaven's sake! The next time that you encounter them alone, you won't get away with only a scratch," She turned and began to briskly walk towards Cereluen City, her shoulders shaking, though Red wasn't sure if it was from anger of if she was crying.

Red stayed quiet as he followed. He had a felling that Leaf was right, and the next time he meet up with Team Rocket he wouldn't be get so lucky.

**Another chapter done! Looks like Leaf is a little upset at Red, but knowing Leaf it won't last. I've just been feeling really motivated these past couple weeks and I won't make any promises, but I'll try to post another chapter for Easter sunday! Anyways, feel free to leave your thoughts, opinons, concerns, advice or anything else you can think of in a review! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Splash! Drops of water splashed into the muddy ground around it as a tan boot stepped into the puddle. With every step, the mud sucked at the boots, the sound loud in the eerily quiet forest. The boots belonged to a tall, muscular man, who walked with an air of confidence. He held his head high, his dark brown, almost black, eyes scanned the forested area. A light breeze rustled the leaves and blew the man's dark, wavy hair behind him. One of his hands rested against the leather knife scabbard on his hip while his other hand held a small piece of paper with a picture of a yellow bird on it. Wild pokemon took refuge behind trees and bushes, sensing this man was very dangerous. They watched as he walked briskly through the forest, only moving when they felt he was at a safe distance away.

Ahead of him a large clearing was spotted with many tents and cars sat idly near by. His ambitious eyes shifted to the left, focusing on stacks of cages, each containing a different pokemon. Like the pokemon inside them, they varied in size, but they all had one thing in common. A very valuable pokemon. As he walked by, a feisty scyther banged on the cage, while a fraxure viciously screamed at him, but overall most of the pokemon backed away at the sight of him. He paid them no mind, and instead focused his attention on the tent just up ahead.

In the center of the tent was a large table with a map spread out of it along with a couple of other papers scattered on it. A couple of men were standing around the table, but the man with the dark hair only had in interest in one of them.

"Lyle," The dark haired man approached the table and stopped next to a boy no older than 15.

The boy glanced up at the sound of his name, his eyes such a pale blue they almost looked like ice. His blonde hair was extremely light as well, and fell in loose curls just below his ear. Lyle straightened up and smiled as he recognized the man talking to him.

"Aaron," Lyle said in response, titling his head to the side in a questioning manner.

Aaron gave a wave of his hand and immediately everyone but Lyle cleared the room. He casually walked over to the other side of the table as he studied Lyle. A prodigy they called him. He looked nothing like the stereotypical prodigy though, as he had a muscular build and was attractive. Aaron could care less what he looked like though, as long as he performed the tasks that he had given him. So far, Lyle had not failed him once, and Lyle had been working for him just over a year. Even though he was much younger than everyone else there, he was already the one of the highest ranked men.

"Have you learned anything interesting about the bird while you've been here?" Aaron asked.

"There have multiple sightings of it during thunderstorms from locals and many have heard it crying out at night. I believe it is very close by and I don't think it'll be long before we manage to find it. I've had the scientist working on electric resistant technology so when we actually find it, it won't fry us," Lyle explained.

"Good, now I'm sure you're wondering the real reason I'm here. You see, I've received some very interesting news from one of my spies," Aaron started.

Lyle cocked his head to the side, intrigued.

"I'm sure you've heard about the scientist who went rogue and took all of his discoveries and fled. He lasted only for a few months before team rocket found him living just outside of a small town called Pallet Town. He tried to flee, but after putting up a small fight he was injured. Instead of facing torture, he choose to kill himself with some type of pill. But here's the catch, he didn't write any of his very important discoveries down, probably deeming them too valuable to fall into team rocket's hands," Aaron paused and studied Lyle's face for a moment.

"That is where you come in. He did not write anything down, but there is strong evidence that he told someone. That someone is a boy about 13 or 14 years old traveling with a girl about his age. I have some sketches of them and a little bit of information about each of them, but otherwise not very much. I'm very surprised they've managed to avoid Team Rocket for this long, but I'm also very grateful. Why the scientist didn't just have his secret die with him, I don't know. I do know that the information he uncovered has something to do with a very powerful pokemon though. And I intend on you finding out this secret,"

Aaron finished, waiting for Lyle to reply. Lyle took a moment to think, and then said, "You want me to go undercover, and what, become their friend? You think they'll tell me this secret of theirs?"

"That's exactly what I think. It shouldn't be too hard, and if worse comes to worse, you can always just kidnap them and take them back to base," Aaron replied.

"Why me? What makes you think I won't just take the information and capture the pokemon myself?"

"You're the only one young enough to do this task, and because I have some trust in you. If you wanted to have gone rouge there have been opportunities for you to do so already. Besides, you don't have the technology or the resources to capture the pokemon. I'm banking a lot on you Lyle, so don't you let me down," Aaron replied, Lyle hearing the unspoken threat in his tone.

"What's in it for me?" Lyle cocked an eyebrow.

"Rumor has it that he knows something about more then one legendary pokemon. You get one, I get one," Aaron replied.

"Very well, I'll do it."

* * *

Psyduck emerged from the water, droplets of water rolling off her yellow head. She pulled herself up onto the circular platform and looked over at Leaf. Leaf gave her pokemon a big thumbs up as Goldeen emerged from the water close to the yellow pokemon.

"Your Psyduck is impressively fast in the water, and training with you has been very fun. But before you go I want to show you one more technique," Misty explained, returning goldeen and enlarging a different pokeball.

"Come on out Poliwrath," Misty released her next pokemon.

A blue pokemon now stood on the platform, eyeing Psyduck curiously. The pokemon had two small eyes on the top of its head and its stomach was white with a large black swirl on it. Leaf stared in awe at the pokemon, impressed by its obvious strength.

"Wow!" Leaf exclaimed.

Misty chuckled, her eyes gleaming.

"Poliwrath is going to help teach your psyduck how to use the move ice beam. Since grass types have a major advantage over water type, this move could help Psyduck fight back. This is a pretty advanced move, so don't be frustrated if Psyduck can't get it. You'll have to keep working on it, and it'll take a lot of practice, but it'll be a great move to have once Psyduck masters it," Misty explained.

"Okay, sounds great!" Leaf agreed excitedly.

"Alright Poliwrath, let's show em!"

Poliwrath took a deep breathe as a glowing blue light began to form in its mouth. A beam of chilling ice shot from the water type's mouth and struck the water, almost instantly turning it to ice. Psyduck watched in awe, a look of excitement passing over her face.

"Alright, your turn to try Psyduck," Leaf encouraged her pokemon.

Psyduck eagerly took a deep breath, trying to copy Poliwrath and opened her mouth wide. Her face reddened with concentration, but nothing happened. Finally Psyduck sighed in defeat and looked to her trainer for help.

"Your fine Psyduck, I would have been amazed if you actually could have created any type of ice on your first try. Why don't you use a water pulse so I can study how you create that attack," Misty instructed.

Psyduck nodded and opened her mouth to create a small ball of dark blue energy. She fired it and it struck the far wall, creating a large splash of water. Misty watched Psyduck thoughtfully and then stopped a moment to think.

"Poliwrath, now you use water pulse and then ice beam,"

Poliwrath used to two moves as its trainer had instructed while she watched him intently. Psyduck watched as well, wanting nothing more than to be able to perform the move.

"Good. Psyduck you need to dig deep down. Creating ice is similar to creating water, but it is also different. It may be harder for you to do, but you can do it," Misty encouraged the water pokemon.

Leaf nodded encouragingly at her pokemon. Psyduck took a deep breathe and then tried again. For a moment, a pale blue light flashed in Psyduck's mouth, but it was as gone as fast as it had came. Psyduck looked down in disappointment, feeling that she had failed her trainer.

"Don't give up Psyduck! Like Misty said, it's just going to take some time. I know you can get this buddy, you just gotta believe in yourself," Leaf gave her pokemon and reassuring smile.

Psyduck nodded, a look of determination now on its face. Misty offered a bit of advice on how Psyduck should stand as she attempted yet another unsuccessful attack. Psyduck tried again, and again, determined to get it. Leaf knew as she watched her pokemon that they would get this technique down sometime, if not today. She had no doubt about it.

* * *

Red sat indian style on his bed, papers scattered around him. Pikachu peered at the papers from his shoulder, only mildly interested in what its trainer was looking at. Red silently scanned the paper he held in his hand, and then grabbed a small notebook on his right. He pulled a pencil out and jotted down a few notes under the giant word _Important!_ He then continued to read, every few minutes pausing to jot down a couple important thoughts or notes. Pikachu yawned, finding his trainer's work no more interesting than a game of chess.

The sound of footsteps thundered up the stairs, signifying the return of someone. Red, with lightning speed, began to shove all the papers scattered on the bed back into the tan file. Keys jingled and then someone was beginning to fiddle with the lock. The lock clicked as Red shoved the file and notebook into his backpack. The door opened with a click just after Red had pulled Pikachu from his shoulder and into his lap. Leaf entered the room, her face as radiant as the sun while she walked over to Red.

"So how'd it go with Misty?" Red asked, trying to be extra friendly after what happened yesterday.

"Great! She's so awesome, and a really big help. Psyduck is learning ice beam too," Leaf bragged.

One of the best things about Leaf, she couldn't hold a grudge.

"Cool, can I see it?" Red scratched behind Pikachu's ear absentmindedly.

Leaf's enthusiasm faltered for a moment.

"Well, Psyduck hasn't actually been able to do it yet. But, we'll get it. We just need to practice," Leaf explained.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get it. You just about ready to get going?"

"Yeah, just let me grab all my stuff and then we can go," Leaf hurried to repack her yellow satchel.

Red gathered his stuff as well and stood by the door waiting for Leaf. Pikachu sat on Red's shoulder, as usual, while it watched Leaf. Once they had everything, they checked out of the pokemon center and were on their way. After learning that Saffron City was off limits, they decided the next best city to head to was Vermilion City. The two trainers were outside city limits and on a dirt path when Leaf heard a rustle. Charmander, who was by Leaf's side, immediately tensed, the flame on his tail flaring. Red paused, watching as Leaf raised a finger to her lip and plucked a rock from the ground. She tossed the rock towards the noise and listened as it thumped against someone, or something.

"Ah!" A non-human voice cried.

Suddenly, a royal blue pokemon with leaves growing from its head and no arms dashed out of its hiding spot and onto the path. The pokemon stood shorter than Charmander, and was staring at the fire lizard with large eyes. Before Leaf could issue an attack, the pokemon was running off as though a Liepard was chasing it. Without a second thought, Leaf and Charmander were after it, weaving through trees as they struggled to keep up with the fast but small pokemon. Noticing Charmander was having a hard time keeping up, she quickly returned him and released Beedrill. The bug pokemon navigated through the tree tops with ease as it tracked its prey.

"Twin Needle!" Leaf commanded.

Beedrill obeyed, dropping down on the fleeing pokemon and striking it hard. The pokemon was round in shape, so when Beedrill hit it, it simply rolled forward and continued to run. It turned quick on its heels and faced Beedrill, its eyes narrowed.

"Oddish!" It cried, releasing a purple powder into the air.

Leaf recognized the attack as poison powder, watching as it formed a purple cloud around Beedrill. Unaffected, Beedrill dove forward, stingers poised to strike, and hit Oddish with another twin needle. Oddish rolled backwards with grace. Realizing that it was beat, it turned to flee, but Leaf was quicker. The red and white ball sailed through the air before bouncing off the wild pokemon and engulfing it in a red light. Leaf watched in anticipation as the balls shook once, twice, three times before clicking. Leaf retrieved the pokeball, staring at in awe a moment before she released her newest pokemon.

"Odd? Oddish?" The pokemon looked at her questioningly.

"Hey there Oddish! I'm your new trainer," Leaf knelt down next to the pokemon and extended her hand.

The oddish regarded her for a moment, and then jumped into Leaf's arms happily. Leaf giggled as she petted the cute pokemon. Leaf noticed Red standing near her smiling, and she gave him a thumbs up. Leaf unclipped her pokedex and collected data on Oddish.

"Thanks for the help," Leaf returned her pokemon with a smile of gratitude.

They continued on the path, Oddish now bounding along happily at Leaf's side. Pikachu, curious to meet the new pokemon, was walking by Oddish. A light breeze drifted by, kissing Leaf's check as it passed. Occasionally, Oddish would run ahead, or dash into the forest, but the grass pokemon would always come skipping back. The day drug on as they walked, though the scenery was changing from forested to grassland . Red and Leaf took a small break for supper, which consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that they had made that morning and some crackers.

Leaf watched as Oddish ran off once again to do who knows what. The little pokemon seemed to have an endless amount of energy, it was even tiring Pikachu out. Just as they were finishing up, Oddish came dashing back, a green stick in its mouth. Behind Oddish, a furious looking pokemon flew after the grass type. It was tan in color and a black V shaped mark was on its forehead, enhancing the bird pokemon's angry look.

"Far! Farfetch'd!" The pokemon shrieked.

"Odd!" Oddish cried, running as fast as its small legs could take it.

Pikachu jumped up, its checks crackling with electricity. Leaf ran at Oddish, fearing the bird pokemon would dive down and strike before Oddish could reach safety. Farfetch'd dove, hitting Oddish and sending it tumbling forward. The green stick Oddish was holding in its mouth went flying, striking the ground before bouncing up into the air. With grace, Farfetch'd caught the stick in its mouth and landed. It turned and glared at Oddish, who was still recovering from the attack. It shifted the stick from its mouth to its wing and charged at Oddish. Leaf reached her pokemon just in time. She protectively covered her pokemon and turned her face away as Farfetch's whipped her with his green stick. Pain immediately soared through her arm and caused her to cry out.

A bolt of electricity flew past the bird pokemon, narrowly missing and instead scorching a tree. Farfetch'd stepped back in shock, but the wild pokemon looked like it wasn't done yet. Oddish jumped out from underneath Leaf and feeling inspired by Leaf's heroic attempt to protect it, slammed into it. Farfetch'd stumbled backwards, but before it could retaliate, Oddish released a green powder into the air. Farfetch'd took one deep breathe before passing out cold. Oddish stared at the sleeping pokemon satisfied.

"Thanks Oddish, but for future reference, you probably shouldn't put pokemon to sleep and take their possessions," Leaf advised, clutching her wounded arm.

"You okay Leaf," Red rushed over, a note of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just looks worse than it actually is," She replied.

Leaf slowly removed her hand, which was now painted crimson red, from her arm. Even though the wound wasn't very deep, it stretched out almost across the whole top half of her arm. Red examined it for a moment, and then rushed over to his bag. Leaf followed, and Oddish scampered to Leaf's side. Oddish watched embarrassed as Red began to treat its trainer's wounds.

"Now this might hurt a little. I have to disinfect it though, 'cause who knows where that stick's been," He explained.

Holding Leaf's arm steady, he poured a clear liquid over the cut. Leaf couldn't help but let out a gasp of pain as the liquid touched her wound. Clenching her teeth, she watched as Red wrapped and bandaged her arm.

"Odd, Oddish," Oddish whimpered, sounding very ashamed.

"It's alright Oddish, I'm fine. I know it was a mistake. Just promise me it won't happen again," She smiled at Oddish, who nodded vigorously.

Leaf glanced at her arm, and grimaced.

"That's gonna leave a scar isn't it," She moaned.

"Probably, but it'll be a cool scar," Red shrugged.

Leaf stared at him for a moment, and then turned shaking her head with a small laugh.

Red smirked, and then added, "It's all part of the experience. What's an adventure without a cool scar to go with it?"

**First off, happy late Easter! I hope you guys had a great day, cause I know I did! Sorry about not posting earlier, I did post as soon as I could though. I know not a lot of action happened in this chapter, but I really wanted to introduce Lyle. Remember to look for him in upcoming chapters! Anyways, leave your thoughts, questions, suggestions, and etc. in a review. Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:Hey guys, I'm doing this at the beginning of the chapter this time, so I feel kinda weird about this. Anyways, I wanted to everyone who favorite, reviews, and follows my story again. I also wanted to announce that Ryoumafan and I and co-writing a fanfiction! We haven't published it yet and its still in progress. This is still my primary focus, I just wanted to let you guys know. Anyways, on to the story!**

**Fluffpenguin:yes TMs and HMs do exist**

**Chapter 15**

Lightning cracked across the sky, filling the forest with a flash of bright light before leaving it in darkness. Thunder boomed seconds later, and then the lightning streaked purple in the sky. The rain was the worst part, relentlessly pounding anything underneath it, and leaving anyone stupid enough to be in it soaked to the bone. The tents, as advanced as they were, could barely keep the rain from leaking through them. A fair haired boy of about 15 stood in the middle of the campsite. He didn't even bother to try and keep dry. His hair was plastered to his forehead and water rolled off his face in drops. He wore a backpack and on his belt were 4 shrunken pokeballs.

The boy approached a tent, his boots splashing and slurping on the muddy ground. He paused in front of the door of the tent. Lightning flashed, illuminating the gun he held in his hand and his pale blue eyes. He'd always known it would come down to this, but that didn't change the enormity of his future actions. There would be no going back. His hand clenched around the gun and he unzipped the tent. He didn't bother zipping it back up as he walked toward the figure sleeping. The man looked almost peaceful, his usual tensed face relaxed for once. The boy walked towards the dark haired man, the sound of his steps covered by the pounding of rain and booming of thunder.

He paused at the side of the bed, took a deep breath and pressed the barrel of the gun up to the man's temple. Even though he couldn't see his eyes, the boy knew they were open.

"Look's like you put your faith in the wrong person Aaron," The boy said.

Before Aaron could reply, the boy pulled the trigger. Aaron's head violently jerked to the side as blood seeped from the deadly wound. The boy wiped a fleck of blood from his face in disgust. He looked at the dead man in front of him, and then turned and walked away. He walked casually out of the tent, as though he had shared a friendly conversation with him rather then murdered him. No one came running out of their tent. They either didn't hear the gun over the storm or they assumed it was the storm. The boy smirked, relieved to finally have put that behind him. He plucked a pokeball from his waist, enlarged it and then released the pokemon inside.

His pokemon, a large black and blue dragon type pokemon, emerged from the pokeball. It cocked its head at him and its six thin black wings behind it flapped restlessly. The fair-haired boy climbed onto the dragon pokemon's back as he had done so many times before. It gave a flap of its wings and soared into the sky gracefully, despite the raging storm around it. Any other trainer might have feared being struck by lightning in such a terrible storm, or that the winds would send them crashing down, but not him. They had flown through too many storms for him to be scared anymore.

"To Vermillion City Hydreigon. I have a couple of friends to meet."

* * *

"What do you mean he's gone?" Leaf demanded.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but Lt. Surge is out doing very important work. He won't be back for another week at least. I apologize for the inconvenience, but take this as a chance to explore our wonderful city. Take a swim in the ocean, and maybe get some extra training in. The S.S. Anne is also in town, and they hosting many fun events, including a battling competition and a dance," The dark-haired man in front of the gym door explained, apologetically.

Leaf moaned loudly, and then noticed the man shifting uncomfortably, thanked him for the information. Almost a weeks worth of traveling and training just to be told they couldn't challenge Lt. Surge. Blue had probably already challenged and beat Lt. Surge, and this was going to put her even farther behind him. She hated being behind him.

"Did you know there was a dance?" Red asked as they walked away from the gym.

"Dance?" Leaf cocked her head to the side, confused.

"You weren't listening. I didn't think you were. The man said that the S.S. Anne is hosting a dance and a battling competition," Red sighed.

Leaf immediately perked up, "Really? That sounds fun! Only, I don't have anything to wear to it."

"That shouldn't be a problem. You have time to shop now," Red pointed out.

"You're right! Do you think it'll be a formal dance, or causal?" Leaf asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask someone?"

"Good idea! If it's formal I'll go buy a dress, but it'll have to be a shorter dress, cause this isn't a prom or anything. If its causal I'll go buy a cute pair of jeans and a fun tank top or a nice shirt. Do you think we'll need a date? I'm so exited Red! I've never been to a real dance, ya know. Oh! And you'll need something to wear too! Maybe a jeans and flannel if its causal and a tux if its not," Leaf rambled, her words coming out so fast they sounded almost like one long sentence.

"Yup," Red nodded, learning by now it was just easier to agree with her.

"Do you think-" Leaf started.'

"I don't know, why don't you ask Nurse Joy," Red cut her off as they walked into the pokemon center.

"Nurse Joy! Can I ask you some questions about the S.S Anne?" Leaf asked as she rushed up to the front desk.

Red turned and looked around the center. A news feed on the television caught his eyes, and he found himself walking over to it. A boy about Red's age with dark blue hair and brown eyes was talking to a reporter. It was obvious that he was upset, perhaps even ashamed. He ran a hand through his short hair anxious, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"-and they were just on me. I didn't even have time to react before he put a gun up to my head. It was night and I couldn't get a good look at either of them, but they were both wearing black. One of the men told me if I didn't give him my pokeballs that he would blow my brains out and take them anyways. I was so scared, I-I just didn't know what to do. I hesitated and then the other man punched me in the stomach, while the other one loaded his gun. I had to hand them over, they would have killed me otherwise,"

"I'm so sorry to hear Roger. Such a terrible thing to happen, but the important thing is that you're safe," The reporter addressed the boy and then turned to the camera.

"Criminals are lurking, and will not hesitate to hurt you. Our advice to you is to never travel alone at night, and keep your valuables close to you. If you have a pokemon, it wouldn't hurt to keep them out to help protect and watch over you. Be cautious folks and stay safe. Back to you Todd," The reporter nodded at the screen and the scene changed to a man sitting behind a table in the news station.

Red frowned, turning away when he heard the sound of urgent music coming from the T.V. He glanced back to see the words _Breaking News! _scrolling across the screen.

"Todd here, reporting live from the Saffron City Police Department. We've just received alarming news from the police," A reporter stood in front of a large marble building in the midst of a crowd.

The screen switched again to a man in uniform standing behind a podium, but in front of the same marble building. With every flash of a camera, the badges proudly displayed on his chest gleamed.

"There has been overwhelming evidence that the numerous reports of pokemon theft could all potentially be a cover for selling trained pokemon on the black market. We acknowledge the fact that some cases do have legitimacy, but many have reason for us to believe that they are not. Trainers can make a good sum from selling their well trained pokemon to others through the black market. We encourage you to keep a watchful eye on suspicious pokemon trainers and report them to the police if you have reason to suspect they could be selling their pokemon as well," The man spoke in a confident, even voice.

Red's blood was boiling and it was all he could do to not get up and smash the stupid T.V. in. What crap. These people had obviously never been trainers, otherwise they would understand the precious bond that a trainer forms with their pokemon. Of course there were always the exception, but Red had a feeling this whole thing reeked of Team Rocket.

"Red?"

Leaf stood beside him, her eyes large with concern as she looked over his face. He turned to face her, realizing that his arms were tensed and his hands were clenched into fists. He relaxed his arms, and unclenched his fists, but he couldn't keep the angry look off his face.

"You okay?" Leaf asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He growled, unintentionally taking his frustration out on her.

"Well, uh, Nurse Joy said that it is customary to bring a date to the dance, even though it isn't required. I was thinking, since yeah know that we are both going and neither of us have a date-" Leaf wrung her hands nervously as she spoke, but was cut off by Red.

"Look Leaf. I just really need to take a walk and get some fresh air. I'll help you find a date when I get back," He sighed, turning away and walking towards the door.

"But that wasn't..." The words shriveled and dried up on her tongue as she watched him walk off.

She stood there, worry eating at her insides as his figure disappeared into the city. He wasn't mad at her, was he? Maybe he was annoyed with her obsessing over the dance, or maybe he did understand her question and wanted to get away from her before he had to answer. She bit her lip anxiously and fished the key to their room out of her pocket. He was watching the T.V. It could have been something he saw on there, but Leaf couldn't imagine anything that would get him that anger. Figuring that stressing out about it wouldn't help, Leaf trudged up the stairs to her room.

Inside the room looked almost identical to all the other rooms she'd stayed in, with the standard bunk bed, bathroom, and desk. She slumped onto her bed, throwing her bag across the room. Now what? She just needed some place to go and relax, someplace she could really just kick back and let didn't really feel in the shopping mood, especially after Red had snapped at her like that. Leaf mentally went through the list of places the man at the gym had them about. The S.S Anne, the battle thingy, those activities in town, and the beach. She jumped up excitedly, almost smacking her head on the bottom of the bunk bed.

"The beach!" She exclaimed out loud excitedly.

She snatched her bag off the ground and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door hard behind her. She emerged a minute later in a simple bandeau style baby blue swim suit. A towel was draped over her shoulder, and a pair of black sunglasses rested on her nose. Her usual sneakers were replaced with a pair of black flip-flops. After grabbing her bag, and locking her room behind her, she ran down to the front desk to ask for directions to the closest beach.

It turned out to be just a couple of blocks away, and it was full of people. The sun was shining down on the beach, and the bright blue sky was covered in the puffy, full, pure white clouds that children would gaze at in awe as they lay in their yards cloud watching. The ocean was glistening as waves collapsed on one another as they fought to make it to shore. A few people braved the large waves farther out in the ocean on brightly colored surfboards. Pokemon occasionally popped up from the water to look around at the beach before disappearing back into the water. People were basking in the sun's rays, building magnificent sand castles, or having a sandy picnic on the beach. In the water Leaf watched as two couples in an intense chicken fight grappled until finally one couple collapsed into the water.

Leaf smiled as she felt the warm sand squishing between her now bare toes. She held her flip flops in her hand while she searched the beach for an empty spot. After finding a worthy one, she laid out her purple and pink beach towel and then fished inside her bag. She pulled out a pokeball, and released Psyduck. The water type pokemon excitedly waddled back and forth on her feet as she examined the scene.

"Go ahead and take a swim," Leaf encouraged her pokemon.

Psyduck took off, causing Leaf to chuckle. She then pulled out Charmander's pokeball and released him as well. He looked at her curiously, and then queasily as he stared at endless expansion of water.

"Hey Charmander, would you mind watching my stuff while I swim with Psyduck? You don't have to get anywhere near the water," Leaf asked.

Charmander nodded, plopping down in the sand next to her towel. She thanked him before rushing after her water type. Psyduck was happily splashing in the water now, and grinned when she saw Leaf. The two continued to swim farther out into the water, neither bothered by the large waves rocking them back and forth. After Leaf had had her fair share of swimming, she returned to her spot on the beach. Charmander was in the process of building a small and shabby castle that collapsed as he looked up at Leaf approaching.

"Great idea Charmander! We could build a sand castle," Leaf rubbed her pokemon's head in approval.

"Char! Charmander!" The fire lizard happily agreed.

Leaf turned to call Psyduck over to help, but she saw that she was happily running back and forth from the tide. While she was watching her pokemon, she noticed a particularly good surfer. She watched her flawlessly ride a wave, her wavy blond hair streaming behind her as she surfed. An orange bipedal pokemon stood on the front of her pink surfboard, its arms outstretched as well. Leaf watched them in almost a trance like state, amazed by her obvious surfing skills until Charmander called her back to reality.

Charmander had pushed together a small pile of very dry sand, so dry that it wouldn't stick together no matter how hard he pushed it together. Leaf searched the beach until she found an abandoned pail not far away from her and she then retrieved it. After filling it up with water, she returned to their pitiful sand castle. Charmander eyed the pail of water wearily as Leaf dumped a little water onto their pile. The sand darkened on contact and was immediately more packable. Using the water, Charmander and Leaf began to work furiously on their sand castle, giving it multiple towers, a waterless moat and a bridge. Charmander plucked a few shiny stones from the sand and together they began to decorate their castle, adding a stick and leaf to the middle tower as a flag.

"That's pretty good," A feminine voice complimented them from behind Leaf.

Leaf swirled around, startled. Behind her stood the surfer, her lean, tanned body towering over Leaf's sitting one. Before Leaf could stand, the girl was sitting next to her, examining their fine craftsmanship. Up close, Leaf could see how naturally pretty this girl really was, making Leaf feel ugly in comparison. She had large, sea blue eyes and a playful smile on her face. Her long blonde hair fell to her belly button, and unlike Leaf's naturally straight hair, hers was perfectly wavy. The orange pokemon stood off to her side, allowing Leaf to have a good look at it. It was obviously a water pokemon, with blue fins on its forearms and a split tail. It also had an inner tube around its neck and a lean weasel like body.

"Thanks," Leaf stammered, feeling her cheeks flush.

"You're Charmander's really cute. Was that your Psyduck back there too?" She nodded towards Psyduck, who was now sitting down and letting the tide wash up on her feet.

"Yeah. What kind of pokemon do you have? I've never seen that kind," Leaf nodded towards the orange pokemon.

"This is Buizel. And where are my manners? My name is Shannon, its a pleasure to meet you," Shannon held out her hand.

Leaf shook her hand and offered Shannon a friendly smile, "I'm Leaf. It's nice to meet you too. I saw you surfing out there and you were really amazing."

"Thanks! Do you mind if I help you finish up on the sand castle? I've always loved them,"

"Sure, we're just about finished though," Leaf nodded, and the two began to work on the castle.

Shannon struck up a conversation with Leaf, and she found herself growing more and more fond of her by the minute. She seemed really genuine and down to earth, nothing like the self-centered pretty girl you'd think she'd be. Psyduck waddled back over eventually, finding an interest in Shannon's buizel.

"How did you become such a good surfer?"

"Practice. Lots and lots of practice. It was a passion though and I spent just about every day at the beach doing, that or roller skating. I always loved rolled skating."

"Hmm, I've never roller skated before."

Shannon practically jumped to her feet when she heard Leaf say that. Leaf looked up at her startled and confused.

"You've never roller skated?! This is madness! We better go rent some skates and do it right now. It'll be fun!" Shannon encouraged Leaf.

Somehow, she convinced Leaf to leave the beach and soon enough they were roller skating down the sidewalk winding around the beach. Leaf couldn't count how many times she fell on her butt, but as time went on she began to get the hang of it. Leaf found herself really enjoying this time, having not just spent some time with another girl since, well, since ever.

"So Leaf, are you a trainer, coordinator, or what?"

"I'm a trainer. I've won two badges so far and was going to get my third one but the gym was closed. I travel around with one of my really good friends and so far my journey's been a blast."

"Good, I'm glad to hear. I'm a coordinator myself. It may not look like it, but I've been traveling around for just over 2 years now. I'm from the Sinnoh region, and I must say that Kanto is my favorite region so far,"

"It's mine too,"

Shannon chuckled, exchanging a smile with Leaf.

"You know, the S.S. Anne is in town and I happen to have an extra ticket. There's a dance there, and a battling competition, it would be fun. We'd have to find some cute dates though," She winked at Leaf and then began to look around at the cute boys in the park as though she was searching for a suitable date.

Leaf dug through her bag a moment, almost losing her balance and falling to the ground, before pulling out a ticket to the S.S. Anne.

"Already got one"

"Cool, do you got a date then?"

Leaf faltered, "Uh, no. Not yet."

Shannon cocked her head curiously at Leaf, but didn't ask anything about it. The had finished the loop around the park and were now approaching the overcrowded beach.

"Thanks so much. This was really fun," Leaf said to Shannon as they returned their skates to the rental shack.

"You bet Leaf. I'll see you at the dance, and you better have a cute boy with you," She gave Leaf a playful wink before turning and sauntering back onto the beach.

Leaf's walk back to the pokemon center was quick and filled with worry. She hoped that Red wasn't too worried about her, she remembered the last time she had disappeared without telling him. Red wasn't there though. Leaf decided she might as well train while she waited. She worked with Oddish's speed while she had Rattata working on his strength. After working with each pokemon, she brought out Psyduck. Psyduck looked up eagerly at her trainer, knowing exactly what she was going to be training on.

"Okay Psyduck, lets give this another shot. Today will be the day," She encouraged her pokemon.

Psyduck opened her mouth, a blue ball of cool energy forming in the back of her throat. She released it, only instead of a beam, there was only a weak ball that shot from her mouth and landed with a pft at her feet. Psyduck sighed with frustration, kicking at the spot where the ball had left icy crystals.

"A lot better then last week at least. I thought I'd find you here," Red stood in the doorway, a smile on his face.

"Red," Leaf smiled, finding herself suddenly very anxious.

She should ask him one more time about the dance, just in case he really did want to go with her.

"Hey Leaf. There's something I gotta tell you that I think you'll really like. First of all, I'm sorry about earlier though, I didn't mean to snap. There was just something on the T.V. that really just pissed me off," He sighed, giving her a weak smile.

"It's alright,"

"So I'll start off with my day. After I stormed away from the pokemon center, I decided a good way to blow of steam would be to take a walk in the park. So I walked around, and then I found a group of guys battling, and betting on the battles at the park. I watched for a little while, and then decided it would be fun to get in on the some of the action. So I battled this one guy, and won. We went on for a couple of hours, each of us battling another. After I had beaten a couple of people in a row, this girl came up to me. She was really pretty and had this playful gleam in her eyes. She told me that she wanted to challenge me. I told her okay, but I wasn't going to take it easy on a girl. She then said that she wanted to raise the stakes, so I suggested doubling the cash. She proposed that if she win, then I would have to go with this girl she knew on a date, but if I won then I could take her on a date. And guess what Leaf," He smiled widely, "I got myself a date."


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I've just been pretty lazy lately, and wasn't really sure what I wanted to write about. Now that its summer though, I will be trying to post more regularly, and also continue to work on some of my other stories. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review with your suggestions, criticize, thoughts or anything else!**

**Chapter 16**

Leaf was acting funny. Ever since the day they had gotten there, she had been shy, downcast, and obviously avoiding Red. Red figured maybe she was just stressed about not being able battle Lt. Surge, but when he suggested that reason to her, she gave him a look half way between I'm-going-to-kill-you and you're-an-idiot. Maybe she was mad at Red for leaving that one day when he stormed off, but he was too scared to ask her about it. So instead he tried in vain to cheer her up and somehow get her to lift the grudge hanging over her.

It had all started a little while after Red had returned from the park and told Leaf the good news about him finding a date. She seemed mildly excited, but also like she was worried about something, or hurt. She had run off to go have dinner by herself because Red had already eaten, and that was when Red started to notice the strange behavior. She wouldn't look him in the eye, keep a conve'rsation, or even be around him for too long. That night he had asked her what was wrong, but like every other girl she insisted that she was okay.

Red was stupid enough to hope that she was actually okay, but that hope was crushed the next morning when she insisted on training alone with her pokemon. He was a little bummed out because he was hoping to try and sneak in a rematch against her, but he didn't want to push it. He decided to hang out in the room and jot some stuff down in his journal about his experiences to try and waste some time. When it became blatantly obvious that Leaf wanted nothing to do with Red, he headed into town.

Vermillion City was a lot larger than any other city he had been in so far, but apparently it wasn't even the largest in Kanto. While it did not have an abundance of skyscrapers and towers, it covered a very large area. People were everywhere, happily going about their lives, most with a pokemon by their side. Pikachu was walking next to Red, the electric pokemon happily greeting other pokemon that walked by. Despite trying to put some distance between Leaf and him, he just couldn't stop thinking about her.

He stopped by a friendly coffee shop and ordered himself a drink before sitting down at a table outside. Pikachu hopped up on the table and happily ate the food Red had bought for him. Red watched his pokemon, quietly sipping his drink as he thought. Didn't he know why Leaf was mad at him? Wasn't it so obvious that he was a fool to not see it earlier? Red rubbed his temple, knowing that in the back of his head he had known all along what was upsetting Leaf. He had brushed her off like it was nothing and then found himself a pretty date instead. Of course Leaf was upset, any girl would be.

Red shifted uncomfortably as guilt coursed through him. Why didn't he want to take Leaf as a date to the dance? It would have made everything so much easier and less complicated. He would get to have fun at a party with his best friend, without awkwardly trying to dance with a girl he hardly knew. It would have saved him the trouble of actually asking a girl out, and facing the possibility of rejection. So why hadn't he accepted when she asked him the first time? Why did he rush off to avoid the question hanging over him? Red had a feeling he knew the answer to those questions as well, but he was scared of answering them and getting an answer he didn't like.

"Pikachu?" The pokemon asked questioningly as he sensed his trainer's distress.

"It's nothing. I've just succeeded in being a complete asshole to my best friend," Red sighed.

"Pika? Pikachu?" Pikachu inquired, turning his attention away from the food.

"Well there's this dance coming up, and it's a couple's dance. Leaf was super excited about it, ya know how she is, and then she approached me to ask me if I wanted to be her date to the dance. I cut her off in the middle of it and then acted like I misinterpreted her before rushing away. Like the idiot that I am, I came back all excited and told Leaf that I had found a date. She's been pretty upset ever since," Red explained.

"Pika, Pika?" Pikachu was frowning at his trainer in disapproval.

"I guess I was scared. I was scared of going with her," His voice softened.

"Pika?"

"I don't know Pikachu. It's too late now anyways. I should fix this though," Red rummed his fingers on the table thinking.

"Pikachu! Pika, Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed excitedly, making gestures with his hands.

"Good idea Pikachu. There would be no way she could stay mad at me if I did that. She would be thrilled. Should I go ask her now, or wait till tomorrow?"

"Pikachu!" The electric pokemon proclaimed, jumping up to his feet.

"Alright, alright! I'm going," Red tossed his drink before beginning to speed walk back towards the pokemon center.

Leaf wasn't at the pokemon center, and when he asked Nurse Joy if she knew where she went, she only said that Leaf said she needed to get out. Red decided this would be as good as time as any to go through the file Team Rocket had on him. Inside was mostly speculation, but there was also a lot about the man that told Red the secret that had gotten Red into so much trouble in the first place. He pulled out a piece of paper with a picture of the man on it and a full page of information. The man in the picture had a solemn look on his face with sad, cold eyes. His hair was cut short and black peppered with gray.

This mystery man was named Daniel, Daniel Andrews. He had been working for Team Rocket for just over 30 years as a biologist, and had just disappeared a little under a year ago. He was wanted for his knowledge and recent discoveries regarding-

There were footsteps outside the door and the clanking of keys. Red quickly shoved the paper back into the file, and then the file back into his backpack. Leaf stepped through the door, a small look of disappointment crossing her face when she spotted Red.

"Hey Leaf," Red gave her a friendly smile, trying not to feel too offended.

"Hi," She muttered, her eyes dropping to the floor as she shuffled over to the desk.

"Leaf, can we talk?" Red stood up, forcing Leaf to look him in the eye.

She glanced up at him, but didn't respond.

"Look, I know I was being a total jerk-wad the other day. I'm really sorry for blowing you off like that. I was just upset about something I saw on T.V., and I wasn't thinking straight. I can call my date right now and tell her that I have to go with this totally cool and crazy chick instead," He gave her a smile, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

She gave him a small smile, listening intently.

"Uh, thanks Red, but as much as I'd love to go with you, I actually already have a date," She chuckled nervously.

"What? Really? Who?"

"Uh, nobody special really," She looked down once more, almost as though she were ashamed.

"Oh. Well, I still want to make it up to you. Grab your bag because we are gonna go on a little shopping trip,"

"Really?" Leaf asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling.

"Yup, and you know how much I love shopping," Red added sarcastically.

"I'm sure we'll have a blast," She said enthusiastically as she grabbed her bag from the floor and rushed out the door.

Red ran after her, and then out the door of the pokemon center. It had significantly warmed up outside, and the sun seemed to be smiling down on Red, as though it approved of his smiled back at it before leading Leaf towards the city.

"So where are we going first?" Leaf asked cheerfully.

"Well, I'm no expert, but I saw this one shop that looks like it might have some nice stuff in it. I probably need to get something nice too," Red replied

"Oooo! Can I pick out your outfit?" She asked, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Um..." Red hesitated, knowing that nothing good could come out of this.

"Please?" Leaf insisted, batting her eyes at him.

"Fine," He sighed, unable to force himself to say no.

"Thanks! You'll love it, I just know it," She beamed.

The first shop they stopped at was called Les Chic, and with only one look inside, Red knew everything in there was worth way more then anything they could afford. Still, Leaf insisted on going and taking a look around. The clothing in there ranged from wedding dresses to business attire. Leaf skipped back to Red with a very elegant strapless red dress in her hands.

"Look at this one Red!" She spun it around for him so he could see the pattern on the back.

"How much does it cost?"

"Uh, looks like about 700,"

"Leaf! Neither of us can afford that!"

"I know, but it's just so pretty!" She sighed, returning it to its place.

They had the exact opposite problem at the next store they in there was cheaply made and or ugly, but the prices were very low. Red looked around this time, finding a dress that he deemed decent enough to wear and brought it back to Leaf. It was light pink with sheer shoulders and a couple of jewels on the top. Leaf took the dress from him, examined it a moment, and then shook her head no.

"Why not? I think it's pretty," Red frowned.

"Red, there's a giant hole in the back," Leaf chuckled.

Red flipped it around, and sure enough there was a gaping hole in it.

"Well, I can just get you another size," He turned to get another one, but Leaf grabbed his wrist.

"No, I think it's time to leave. Come one," She hung the dress on a random wrack and leaf Red out.

"How about we go to a shop that I think sounds good this time?" Leaf suggested, eyeing all the stores up and down the streets.

They continued to walk for almost ten minutes when Leaf spotted a store she liked. As they walked in, Red found himself liking it too. Leaf began to search almost immediately and before long she found a dress she liked. She brought it back excitedly to show to Red. It was black with a halter neckline and a jeweled top. The back was sheer, the bottom was loose and it fell just above her knees.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked excitedly, yet almost bashfully.

"Its really pretty. I think you should go try it on," He encouraged her.

She took the dress back to the dressing room and reemerged a minute later. She had pulled her hair back into a bun so you could see the open back. She did a little twirl for him, the dress moving gracefully around her. The dress seemed to fit her in all the right ways, hugging her tiny waist and showing off her smooth shoulders. She smiled shyly at him, her face questioning.

"It looks great on you Leaf!" Red exclaimed.

"Thanks, I like it too," She replied, unable to keep from blushing.

"How much does it cost?" Red inquired.

"Only 150," She said, very pleased with herself.

"Perfect! Let's get it,"

"I also picked out something for you. You'll love it,"

"Let me see it!" Red insisted, taking a step towards her and holding out his hand expectantly.

"Nope! Not until the night of the dance," She grinned at him, and then gave him a playful wink.

"Come on Leaf, just let me see it," Red groaned.

She shook her head, smiling all the while, "No, not a peek. Now wait outside the shop while I buy the stuff."

Red sighed, but did as he as told. Leaf emerged from the store minutes later, a shopping bag on her arm and an air of victory about her.

"Okay, now I want to show you another place I think you will enjoy," Red encouraged her towards him.

Leaf followed him excitedly, her eyes searching ahead expectantly. The sun was falling fast, casting a dazzling array of colors across the light sky. The two continued to walk until they came across a very large park on the edge of the city. Various trainers were scattered throughout it, but in the middle of a large clearing a big group of them were huddled together, talking intently about something. Red escorted Leaf towards the people huddled together, his head held high and a smirk on his lips.

"Hey, look! It's Red!" One of the trainers called out and the rest turned and greeted him with cheers, as though he were some type of hero.

"Hello everybody. I would like to introduce you to my good friend Leaf," He motioned to Leaf, who everyone seemed to greet.

"You come to battle?" A kid with black scruffy hair sticking out from beneath a backwards hat stepped forward.

"No, but I brought her to,"

All eyes suddenly looked to Leaf, causing her to shift uncomfortably under their gaze. They examined her, most deciding whether or not they thought they could take her in a battle.

"Where are we Red?" Leaf asked urgently.

"We are at the park, Leaf. Remember how I told you I battled some guys at the park the other day? Well, now its your chance to battle some guys at the park. It'll be fun, and we bet on who we think is going to win. Don't worry though, I'll be betting on you," Red explained.

"I'll battle her," The boy with the hat on stepped towards Leaf, a cocky smirk on his lips.

Everyone around the two immediately began to clear away from the two, leaving them standing opposite each other in the middle of the clearing. The trainer's brown eyes glinted mischievously as she listened to people all around them placing bets on who they thought was going to win. Leaf had no idea if this was even legal, but she was going to have fun with it while it lasted. Another trainer walked to the center of the battlefield, an official look on his face.

"This battle will be held between Leaf and Jack. If you havn't already bet, I advise you to do so now. The rules are simple. Each trainer will get two pokemon each with no substitutes. The first trainer to knock out both of the other trainer's pokemon will win. Now let the battle begin!" He announced, turning and walking off the field.

Leaf wasted no time in releasing Rattata out of his pokeball. The small purple pokemon eagerly chattered its teeth in apprehension for the battle. The other trainer released a bipedal pokemon who was light gray in color with three brown ridges on top of its head. Its red eyes bared into Rattata's as it flexed its muscles.

"Machop, use pound!" Jack yelled.

Machop rushed forward and pounded its fist right into Rattata's face, causing the purple pokemon to be thrown backwards. Rattata wasted no time though, and quickly retaliated with hyper fang. His overgrown fangs sunk deep into Machop's arm, making the fighting pokemon cry out in pain. It shook its arm savagely, but no matter how hard it tried, it simply couldn't shake Rattata off.

"Use karate chop," Jack instructed.

Machop raised its arm, and brought it hard down on Rattata's back. The rat pokemon's eyes went wide and it let go in surprise. Machop quickly delivered a low kick to Rattata's stomach, sending the pokemon tumbling backwards. He struggled back to his paws, feeling the overwhelming pain of the two super effective attacks.

"Come on Rattata, hang in there," Leaf urged her pokemon.

"Machop, show no mercy! Jack yelled, fist pumping the air.

Machop charged, its fist raised in preparation to strike.

"Dodge with quick attack,"

Rattata gracefully jumped to the side and then slammed into Machop's side, sending the pokemon stumbling to the ground. Before it could recover, Rattata blitzed it with another effective quick attack. Machop jumped to its feet, obviously not wanting to take another hit like that.

"Focus energy!"

Machop closed its eyes and brought its hands together, its forehead creased with focus. Its opened it's eyes suddenly, a yellowish-orange energy surrounding it for a moment before dissipating. "Karate chop one last time!" Machop rushed forward, its arm raised.

"Growl, and then dodge it,"

Rattata let out a loud growl, startling Machop and causing it to hesitate just a moment. Rattata attempted to leap out of the way, but Machop grabbed a hold of Rattata's tail before he could. Rattata looked back in shock as Machop brought its arm straight down on the normal pokemon's back. Rattata's eyes went wide as it collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious almost immediately.

"Good work Rattata," She returned her pokemon with a sigh.

"Still so confident you bet on the right person?" Jack cried out to the crowd, a sneer on his face.

"Don't be so sure this battle is over just yet," Leaf replied, enlarging her next pokeball.

"We'll see about that," He replied.

Leaf threw the pokeball, releasing Charmander in a red flash. Charmander shot a streak of flames into the air before turning and staring down Machop. Leaf wasted no time and called out to her pokemon, "Charmander, scratch!"

Charmander charged, surprisingly fast and attempted to scratch Machop. Machop sidestepped the attack, but Charmander turned and fired an ember right into Machop's face. The fighting pokemon cried out in surprise before stumbling backwards and then collapsing to the ground. Jack stared in surprise at his fallen pokemon, the smirk whipped off his cocky face.

"Return Machop. Let's see if you can handle Shuckle," Jack released his own pokemon.

Shuckled turned out to be a turtle like pokemon with a circular red shell. It had four limp yellow limbs that stuck out of circular holes in its shell. Its neck also stuck out a hole, and its two small black beady eyes stared blankly at Charmander. Leaf took out her pokedex to gather information on this pokemon, not recognizing it.

"Shuckle, the mold pokemon. It stores berries inside its shell. To avoid attacks, it hides beneath rocks and remains completely still," The pokedex reported to her.

"Put that thing away, and lets finish this battle," Jack yelled at her.

Leaf couldn't stop the flush from creeping into her cheeks as she hurriedly put the device away.

"Charmander start off with another ember attack," Leaf instructed.

Charmander fired a powerful ember attack at Shuckle. Shuckle didn't even attempt to dodge the attack. Just before the attack struck, Shuckle retreated back into its shell and the fire bounced harmlessly off it. Frustrated, Charmander fired another ember attack, only to have the same effect. "Try scratch," Leaf said.

Charmander charged forward, its claws gleaming in the sunlight, and struck the pokemon repetitively. Like his previous attacks, this seemed to do nothing as well. Charmander, frustrated, retreated and waited for the Shuckle to make the next move.

"That was Shuckle's withdrawal. Combined with its amazingly high defense and special defense, your attacks have practically no effect on my pokemon," Jack boasted as Shuckle reappeared from its shell.

"We'll see about that," Leaf growled, both her and her pokemon tensing.

"Shuckle, use rollout," Jack instructed.

Shuckle drew back into its shell and began to rapidly spin in place. It suddenly shoot out at Charmander, but the fire lizard managed to dodge the attack in time. Shuckle, still spinning, swooped back around, faster this time for another shot at Charmander.

"Face it head on and knock it out of the way with metal claw," Leaf commanded.

Charmander waited patiently, and just before Shuckle struck, Charmander lashed out with a metal claw attack. The attack made contact, sending shuckle spiralling through the air. "Now continuous embers at in while it's in the air!" Leaf cried out. Charmander began to rapid fire the attack, each making contact with Shuckle as it flew through the air towards the hard and unforgiving ground. Its shell hit the earth with a loud snap, and bounced once before slowly rolling to a stop.

"Rock throw!" Jack yelled.

Shuckle suddenly reemerged from its shell, grabbing hold of a large rock close to it and hurled it at Charmander. Charmander leaped to the side just before the rock flew by his head.

"Smokescreen!"

Charmander opened his mouth and released a thick smog of black smoke. The battlefield now completely covered by the smoke, Shuckle began to desperately throw rocks around, hoping to get lucky and strike Charmander. Meanwhile, Charmander continued to creep closer and closer to Shuckle until he was in striking distance. Shuckle, oblivious to Charmander, had become exhausted from throwing rocks and now was looking around for Charmander in the smoke.

"Metal Claw!"

Charmander charged forward, hitting Shuckle hard with his metallic claws and causing a good amount of damage. The smoke had begun to disperse, and Charmander, knowing that his cover would soon be gone, began to retreat. Shuckle turned and spotted Charmander. It grabbed a large rock and hurled it at the fire pokemon. Charmander barely dodged the attack, but he couldn't manage to evade the second rock. It sent Charmander stumbling backwards until he fell back.

"Quick, rollout!" Jack's voice rose with excitement.

Before Charmander could get back up, Shuckle slammed into his gut. Charmander, dazed, struggled to get to his feet while Shuckle circled around for another hit.

"Come on Charmander!" Leaf encouraged her pokemon.

Shuckle hit Charmander again, this time even harder than before. Charmander dropped to the ground, his body riddled with scratches and bruises. His breaths were coming out in short and labored pants as he watched Shuckled wind up for another attack.

"You can do it Charmander! Don't give up!" Leaf desperately yelled at her pokemon.

Charmander pushed himself up and let out a loud cry. Suddenly, his body began to glow white and he began to grow. When the light cleared, Charmander's orange scales were now red and it had grown taller and stronger. A horn had also grown from the back of its head. Shuckle was still spiraling towards him at amazing speeds, but he was ready this time.

"Charmeleon!" He cried out.

Charmeleon nimbly jumped out of the way, and then fired a smokescreen attack into the air. Confused on which way it was going, Shuckle stopped the rollout attack and looked around for Charmeleon. Jack didn't want a repeat of last time though.

"Withdrawl!" He ordered.

Shuckle retreated back into its shell, but that didn't stop Charmeleon's merciless bombardment of metal claw attacks. He stepped back, eyeing the pokemon and ready to move the second Shuckle poked its head out of the shell.

"Smokescreen one more time, and then ember," Leaf couldn't help but burst with pride for her newest pokemon.

Charmeleon fired a smokescreen right at the shell, completely engulfing the pokemon. The attack had its intended effect, smoking out Shuckle and forcing it out of its shell. Charmeleon blasted and ember right in Shuckle's face, sending the pokemon reeling back. Shuckle stumbled backwards and then collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Charmeleon cried out victoriously, firing a streak of fire into the air. Jack stared in shock at his defeated pokemon, and then looked up at Leaf, who was smiling uncontrollably

"Nice, Leaf," Red congratulated her, running out on to the field.

"Thanks, my pokemon did most of the hard work though," She rubbed Charmeleon's head approvingly.

"Charmeleon!" Charmeleon cried happily.

Leaf turned and walked over to Jack, extended her hand. Jack stared at her for a moment, and then begrudgingly took it. "That was a good battle," Leaf praised him.

"Yeah whatever," He mumbled, turning and walking away with his hands in his pocket and his head down.

Red pulled a stack of bills out of his pocket and handed them all to Leaf.

"What's this?" She asked, hesitant to take it.

"Its for the dress and the tuxedo, and a little extra for winning," He winked at her.

Leaf couldn't help but giggle as she took the money from Red. She suddenly wrapped her arms around Red's neck and hugged him. He hesitated, but only for a moment before he returned the gesture.

"Thanks Red, this meant a lot to me," She said, still hugging him.

"You're welcome Leaf, anything for you,"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"There it is!"

Leaf and Red stood on a dock overlooking a huge white ship rocking gently on the ocean waves. People were hurrying back and forth on the dock all around them, many rushing to board the ship with the words S.S. Anne printed on its side. Leaf took a deep breath, enjoying the salty tang of sea water in the air. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest as she walked towards the enormous cruise ship. Leaf pulled out her ticket, looking at it just one more time to confirm that it was actually real. The ticket included a vacation on the cruise ship, unlimited food, and free entertainment. Since Red and Leaf weren't planning on taking a cruise, they figured they could just use the ticket for a couple of free nights on the ship while it was docked. When they reached the front of the ship, a sailor asked kindly for their tickets. They handed it to him, he beeped them in, and then sent them on their way.

"This is exciting," Leaf squealed.

"The front desk is over here," Red said, leading them over to a brown haired professional woman behind a desk.

"Hi there, and welcome to the S.S. Anne. My name is Racheal. How can I help you two?" She asked kindly, her pearly whites almost blinding.

"We would like to check into our rooms. We don't plan on actually going on the cruise, but we want to check into some rooms for a couple of days. Is that okay?" Leaf explained.

"Why of course! Let me just check your tickets quick and then I can get you two some rooms," She took their tickets and scanned them.

"Okay, here are your room keys. You are rooms 345 and 347," She handed them back the tickets along with two room keys each.

"Thanks!" Leaf called out as they walked away from her.

Their rooms turned out to be way better then they could have ever imagined. Leaf's jaw almost dropped open when she first walked into hers. It was at least double the size of a normal hotel room with a huge master bed placed in front of a flat screen T.V. There was even a little kitchen area complete with a bar, microwave, oven, stove, and mini fridge. The bathroom was Leaf's favorite part of the room though. It was complete with a huge mirror, luxury bath tub, separate shower, and spotless counter tops. After exploring the room, Leaf threw her bag onto the bed and collapsed onto the comfortable mattress. She was watching an episode of Professor Oak's show when she heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, want to go sign up for the battle tournament?" Red asked her once she opened the door.

"Yeah. Holy crap my room is nice! Does yours look like mine?" Leaf exclaimed while Red scanned the room once stepping inside.

"Mine's just a little bit cooler," Red shrugged casually.

"Whatever," Leaf huffed, rolling her eyes as she shut the door behind them.

As they walked down the halls, Leaf turned to Red and asked, "How are they going to hold the battle tournament on the ship? Won't the aftermath of the battles ruin the ship?"

Red chuckled, "The tournament isn't on the ship Leaf,"

She paused for a moment frowning, "It's not?"

"No. It's at a stadium about a block away from here," Red smiled as he watched the blood rush into her cheeks.

"Oh,"

The walk to the stadium was short, and Leaf and Red made small talk along the way. Leaf was trying in vain to contain her excitement for the dance tonight, while Red tried to squeeze some information about his outfit for the dance from her. Inside, they approached a friendly looking bald man sitting behind the front desk.

"Hello. Are you two here to sign up for the multi battle tournament?" He asked kindly.

"Yes, we are here to sign up for the tournament, but what is a multi battle?" Leaf asked curiously.

"It's a double battle where each side has two trainers. The trainers will have to use their pokemon to try and work together to defeat their oppenents. The tournament is set up in teams, and the team that wins gets to choose an evolutionary stone as their prize. Here are the forms to fill out if you wish to enter. I assume you to want to be a team? You can write your prefered partner's name here," He informed them, handing them each a paper, and then indicating the area with his finger.

"Cool, thanks,"

Leaf began to fill out the form, glancing over at Red's every once in a while to make sure she was doing it right. The door slammed behind them, and Leaf did a double take when she saw who it was. She groaned, laying her pencil down and placing her forehead in her hand as she spotted his cocky grin.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite love birds," Blue walked up to the two, standing right between them as he snatched a form from the desk receptionist.

Leaf reached over, annoyed, and flicked him.

"Ow! You know denial is the first step of love," Blue pestered them as he filled out the sheet.

"Somehow you seem to have confused the steps of grief with love," Red said dryly, handing his form to the bald man.

"You two going to be a team?" He asked, glancing up at them and ignoring Red's comment.

Neither of them replied, but Leaf handed her form in as well. Leaf and Red turned to walk away, but Blue rushed after them once he turned his sheet in as well.

"Let me guess, you two are partners?" He asked again, louder.

"Yeah. At least we won't get stuck with some random trainer like you will," Leaf pointed out, smirking.

"Still won't be enough for you two to beat me. I've already proven that you were easy enough beat, and I guess I'll just have to do it again," Blue bragged, turning Leaf's smirk into a scowl.

"I beat you," Red pointed out, his voice casual.

"And that won't happen again," Blue growled.

"Why are you following us Blue," Leaf sighed.

"I just wanted to remind you that I won, and you lost. Just like you will in the tournament," Blue announced, and then turned and walked away.

Leaf watched him walk away, her face reddening and her body stiffening.

"Come on Leaf," Red urged her, turning and walking towards the S.S. Anne.

"Ugh! He's such a jerk!" She growled.

Red nodded in agreement as they walked through the city. With the S.S. Anne in town, there were even more people in the city than usual, and they brought with them an array of different pokemon. Red studied the pokemon in amazement in wonder, hundreds of questions about them popping into his head. Vermilion City was a nice city, with a sense of peace that came with the ocean and excitement with the variety of people and places. Leaf was still stalking off upset, when Red grabbed her arm to stop her. Leaf needed that done to her a lot more. She needed to stop and appreciate things instead of rushing through them to get to her next task.

"Let's stop and eat," Red suggested.

Leaf glanced back towards the ship and then looked at Red. It was a little past noon, and the dance didn't start til 7. There would definitely be enough time to just take one small break.

"Okay, but I get to choose the restaurant," Leaf agreed.

She settled on a friendly little coffee shop that sold sandwiches in addition to caffeinated drinks. Inside was dimly lit with soothing jazz music playing and people happily enjoying their drinks. Red and Leaf took a seat at a booth and after ordering their food, they began to talk about the upcoming tournament.

"So I was thinking of some good battling teams for us. Psyduck and Ivysaur would make a pretty good team I think. I also think Charmeleon and Pikachu would make a sweet team, especially with combo attacks and stuff, but they both have a disadvantage to ground and rock type pokemon," Leaf explained, sipping her hot chocolate.

"Pikachu's speed could make up for the type disadvantage." Red pointed out, "Remember that battling isn't always about type advantages."

Leaf nodded, "Right. I want to try and get Oddish into some battles too. I think using her poison and sleep powder could be game changers and we've been training a lot."

"Let's worry about it tomorrow," Red replied, surprising Leaf.

"Oh, okay," Leaf stuttered, turning with relief when she saw their waitress setting their food down.

After they finished and paid for their meal, Leaf and Red headed back out to the ship. Even more people seemed to be crowding the docks, causing them to be swept up in the mass of people. They successfully made it through the crowds with a little patience and quick maneuvering.

"So, will I just see you at the dance then?" Leaf asked as they climbed the stairs leading to their hall.

"I guess so. I was planning on taking her out to dinner and then coming back for the dance," Red answered.

"Oh, I think we are doing something like that too. Hopefully it won't be too weird," Leaf stopped in front of her door, pausing a moment.

"I'll seen you in a couple hours then. Have fun on your date," Red gave her a two fingered wave as he walked away.

"You too," Leaf said before fumbling to put her key in the lock.

She immediately belly flopped on to her monstrously large bed once she made it inside. The T.V. was still playing an episode of Professor Oak's show, but Leaf wasn't very interested. She fumbled through her bag before releasing Charmeleon from his pokeball. The fire pokemon eagerly perked up when he spotted his trainer, and then looked around in awe at the room around them.

"Hey Charmeleon,"

"Charmeleon!" He proclaimed as he examined the room.

"I know, it is pretty cool. Want to talk about the battle tournament?" Leaf glanced up at the clock, reassuring herself that she had plenty of time.

"Char! Charmeleon!" He replied eagerly.

Somewhere along the line of discussing her strategies, she ended up releasing all of her pokemon in her room, which could have been disastrous if it were any smaller. They all listened to her thoughtfully, and would give their opinions when they thought it would help. Leaf glanced up at the clock once more.

"I better start getting ready. You guys just hang out and don't break anything while I'm doing that, alright?" She instructed them as she grabbed her dress and bag and shut the bathroom door behind herself.

Leaf wasn't any expert on doing makeup or hair, but she knew the basics of beauty. An hour and a few youtube tutorials later, Leaf emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing the black dress she had bought earlier with her hair put up in a simple yet elegant updo. She had left two curled pieces of hair out to frame her face and wore a pair of pearl earrings that brought attention to her face. Leaf was also wearing makeup, which was a very new look to her pokemon and herself. She had decided to not go overboard with the make up, settling with a touch of blush that made her face seem to glow, a thin line of eyeliner on her top and bottom eyelids, natural eye shadow, and some mascara.

"Well, how do I look?" Leaf asked nervously as her pokemon stared at her.

They all, almost in unison, began to voice their approval of her look causing Leaf to flush.

"Thanks guys," She smiled at them, and then glanced over at the clock.

"Oh, my date will be here any minute. You guys better get back in your pokeballs," Leaf explained as she returned her pokemon and placed their pokeballs back in her bag.

Leaf then sat on the bed anxiously waiting, her eyes following the second hand on the clock. She nervously rubbed her thumb over the back of her hand, wondering how this night would turn out. What would Red think of her? Would he ask her dance, even thoug hhe already had a date? A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Leaf quickly grabbed her satchel and rushed to the door. Gray stood behind the door, a charming smile plastered on his handsome face. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a silver tie, black dress pants, and black shoes. Like usually, his brown hair was perfectly combed to the side.

"Hello my rose, you look absolutely stunning," He greeted her.

"Thanks, you like nice too," Leaf face was red hot as she let the door close behind her.

"Shall we?" Gray asked, extending his arm to her.

Not knowing what else to do, Leaf linked her arm with Gray's as he lead her down the hall. She could hear the buzz of excited voices in the hall as people prepared for the dance. She couldn't help but wonder what Red was doing right now.

"I've reserved us seats at the finest restaurant in town, and it's a short walk there as well," Gray explained as they walked across the dock and towards Vermillion City.

"Sounds great. Did you get a chance to battle Lt. Surge? He was gone before Red and I made it into town," Leaf asked, hoping to get some good battling information from Gray.

"Yes, I won, but Lt. Surge was no pushover. He specializes in electric types, so he used paralysis to his advantage often," Gray replied.

The restaurant was nothing less than amazing, and Leaf couldn't help but dread the bill she knew she would have to pay when she was finished eating. They were seated at a table outside that had a beautiful view of the ocean and there was live entertainment as well.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," Leaf admired, wanting to break the awkward silence that hung there as Gray shamelessly stared at Leaf.

"Yes, yes it is," He agreed, and then leaned in closer, "My rose, tell me about yourself."

"Uh-hu," Leaf laughed nervously before clearing her throat, "Well, I'm having a lot of fun on my journey. I've caught some new pokemon and made some new friends."

"I'm glad. So what pokemon do you have?" Gray asked, his eyes intently focused on Leaf's.

The rest of the dinner went on with similar talk, Gray asking more and more about Leaf's personal life. Anytime Leaf tried to change to subject, or ask about Gray, he would just bring it back to her. So, the rest of the evening was spent discussing Leaf. It came as a relief when the waiter finally brought them the bill. When Leaf reached for her wallet, Gray protested loudly, declaring that a gentleman always pays for his lady's dinner. After their slightly awkward supper, Gray escorted her back towards the cruise ship.

Excitement shot up her spine as she walked towards the ship, her eyes transfixed once more by the thought of the dance inside. The music was audible even from the dock, the beat vibrating Leaf's very heart. She wondered what Red was doing right now. Was he dancing with his date right now, having the time of his life? A wave of jealousy overcame her, but she choked it down and instead tried to focus on something else.

"Are you a good dancer?" Leaf asked, after they flashed the man their tickets.

Grey chuckled, "I'll let you be the judge of that."

He lead her through the ship towards the blaring music and flashing lights. The deck was packed with people jumping around to the beat and singing along to their favorite song. A small stage had been set up at the front of the deck with a DJ, while in the back there were tables and a food and punch bar. Most of the people were packed around the stage, but a couple were sitting at a table nibbling on their food or sipping their punch. As the music vibrated through Leaf, she felt a sudden surge of confidence.

"Come on, lets see if you really are a good dancer," Leaf teased playfully as she took his hand and lead him to the dance floor.

Leaf jumped right into it, hopping around and pumping her fist into the air to the beat. Though she was no expert dancer, she moved well enough with the song. Grey on the other hand seemed to have been dancing his whole life. Even though he wasn't doing any elaborate dance moves, he seemed perfectly in sync with the music, his every move graceful. Leaf watched him in amazement, finding herself unconsciously moving closer towards him. People were pressing in on them from all sides, but Leaf was only focused on Grey.

"Leaf!" A voice called out her name.

She turned to find Red waving at her, a big smile on his face. Behind him was a blonde-haired girl in a white lace dress. Her long hair fell perfectly in loose curls. Her make-up was also perfect, drawing attention to her large blue eyes and high cheeks bones. Red was dressed in a simple black tuxedo that fit him just right and a silver tie. Leaf had grappled with the idea of getting him some crazy weird suit, but decided she couldn't embarrass her friend like that in front of his date, even after what he'd done. So instead she picked out something she thought would look good on him, and she had succeeded.

"Shannon?" Leaf said in shock, staring at the girl that was obviously Red's date.

"You two have meet?" Red asked, glancing between them.

"Yeah. Leaf you look gorgeous!" Shannon squealed, embracing Leaf in a friendly hug.

"Thanks, you look beautiful too," Leaf replied as the two separated.

Red's attention shifted to Leaf's date, his face visibly dropping when he recognized Gray. His smile was replaced by a scowl he didn't even try to cover up.

"I like that suit Red, where did you get it?" She asked teasingly, trying to ease the tension between the boys.

"A very nice friend of mine picked it out," He replied, his gaze shifting over to meet Leaf's.

"Shannon, this is Gray. Gray, this is Shannon," Leaf introduced the two.

"Nice to meet you," Gray shook her hand, nodding at her.

"You too," She smiled at him.

"Should we dance?" Leaf asked.

"Yeah, let's!" Shannon agreed, grabbing Red's elbow and pulling him to the dance floor.

The group danced together for while, but with the blaring music, overabundance of people, and little light, Leaf eventually lost sight of her friends. She didn't mind dancing with other people though, and they didn't seem to mind her dancing with them. Everything was going fine until a slow song suddenly began to play over the speakers. Everyone began to partner up, leaving Leaf alone standing like an idiot as she searched for a dance partner. She searched the crowd, subconsciously trying to pick out Red's face. A hand touched her shoulder, and Leaf's heart soared as she turned around to see who it was. It turned out only to be Gray though, and Leaf couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"Shall we?"

Leaf wrapped her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her hips as they slowly began to sway back and forth to the music. She found that it was oddly soothing, and for a moment she forgot how much she wanted to dance with Red and just enjoyed dancing with Gray. Then she spotted Red swaying slowly back and forth with Shannon, their eyes locked. She watched him, unable to look away. He glanced over at her, but Leaf looked away before they made eye contact. Leaf took a step closer to Gray as they danced, their foreheads almost touching. He gazed at her intently, the question of whether or not to kiss her obviously floating through his mind. Leaf answered that question when she closed her eyes and rested her head near the crook of his neck. They stayed like that until the song was over and a new song replaced it.

The rest of the night seemed to fly by. Leaf danced the night away, forgetting all of her worries for just one night. She was usually with at least one of her friends, but occasionally would dance with a group of strangers. After a while, Leaf finally got tired and decided to take a break. She poured herself a cup of punch and stood next to a table as she watched people dancing and absentmindedly sipped her punch. She was so sidetracked that she almost didn't notice Red approaching her. She gave a friendly smile and wave to her friend.

"Hey Leaf. So I was wondering if-" Red was abruptly cut off from whatever he was going to say when a teenage boy cut between them and snatched Leaf's hand, pulling her towards the dance floor. She was so surprised that she didn't even have time to protest as he lead her through the crowds.

"Wha- What are you doing?" She stuttered as he turned around to face her.

The resemblance he had towards Red was so astounding it left her speechless again. He had raven black hair that seemed to be messy in just the same way. They both also had the same build and height. While this boy had light blue eyes instead of brown like Reds, they reminded Leaf of his all the same. He did seem much more laid back and playful then Red did though.

"I saw a beautiful girl, and I just had to have a dance with her. You don't mind I hope?" He asked, still holding her hand.

"N-no," Leaf replied without thinking.

"Good, now follow my lead," He instructed, suddenly grabbing her other hand and pulling her close.

Leaf didn't know what to do but do what he said. It was obvious he was a skilled dancer, though she didn't know if it came from practice or athletic talent. He danced with grace, twirling her around and moving in sync with the beat. Leaf became lost in the dance, so entranced by it that she completely forgot about the stranger spinning her around and Red standing at a table alone while he watched her dancing. To her disappointment, the song soon ended, and when it did, so did their entrancing dance.

"Thank you for that short, but wonderful time. I really must get going now. I'm sorry, but I don't think I ever caught your name?" He cocked his head to the side as he dropped her hands from his own.

"Leaf. My name is Leaf,"

"Thank you Leaf. I hope we meet again soon," He turned, walking away into the crowd.

That was when Leaf remembered she had forgotten something.

"Wait! What's your name?" She called out above the noise.

He looked back at her, his eyes gleaming. "Yellow."

And just like that he was gone as fast as he had came. Leaf stood there a moment, staring at the spot where he had disappeared. Then the DJ's voice came over the speaker, announcing that this would be the last song of the night. A slow song began to play, and Leaf found herself alone once more. She looked around for Gray, hoping that he could save her from an awkward dance, but was surprised when Red approached her instead.

"Hey Leaf," He hesitated, fumbling for the right words, "I was wondering if you wanted to have one last dance with me?"

He finished awkwardly, his cheeks visibly red even with the dim lighting. Leaf stared at her best friend and partner in crime for a moment, her heart hammering inside her chest. It felt like someone had given her a shot of morphine and her mind along with the rest of her body couldn't seem to move properly or process the information. It took Leaf a moment to nod her head yes. Red let out a sigh of relief, tension flooding from his body. He stepped towards her, and then slowly placed his hands on her waist, causing an odd sensation in Leaf that was a mix between having to throw up and needing to pee. She assumed this was what it must be like to have butterflies in your stomach.

Their dance seemed so unreal to Leaf, so much like a dream, that for a moment she wasn't sure if somebody had actually given her a shot of morphine. Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders as they swayed slowly back and forth to the beat, their eyes never leaving each other's. Leaf's breathe was caught in her chest and if she didn't force herself to breath she probably would have forgotten how. She was lost in his dark chocolate brown eyes, as the rest of world seemed to melt away around her. She could smell the cologne he had put on for the occasion and the shampoo he used to wash his hair. Leaf wondered if it was a normal thing to enjoy the smell of your crush, but then again she really didn't care either way.

It was a little odd to see Red so unnerved, so uncomfortable, and so unconfident, yet it was also a bit relieving. Even though Red seemed like this untouchable guy with unwavering strength and confidence, he was just a boy underneath his tough exterior. Leaf wanted nothing more than to lean in just another inch and let their lips touch, if only for a second. She almost did, but she stopped herself. A dance was just a dance, and no matter how magical it all seemed, Red could just be trying to be a good friend. When Leaf looked back on it years later, she wished she would have. Things would have turned out a lot differently if she had only the courage to lean forward just one inch.

But like all good things, it had to come to an end. The song ended, and Red slowly pulled his hands away from Leaf's hips, leaving an empty feeling inside her. Resistantly, Leaf removed her hands from his shoulders as well, and glanced away from him and towards the ground.

"Thank you, this was fun," Leaf said, looking back up at him.

Red stared back at her with such intensity that Leaf thought she might melt under his gaze.

"Thank you too Leaf," He replied, his voice softening along with his gaze.

For a moment they both just stood there, neither daring to look away and break the precious bond they shared. Then Gray approached, his shoes pounding hard against the ground as he walked towards them. Leaf's eyes lingered on Red's for a second longer before she turned and smiled at Gray.

"Hey Gray,"

"Did you have a good time?" He asked, glancing over at Red and then back to her.

"Yeah, I had a great time. Thanks so much for coming here with me,"

"I'm glad, now it would be rude of me not to escort you back, so I insist that let me," Grey held out his elbow for Leaf to take. She did.

"Good-bye Red,"

"Good-bye Leaf,"

**Yeah! I'm so glad to finally have this chapter done. Sorry it took so long to write, I just really wanted this chapter to be good and I didn't know how I wanted to write it for a while. I hope you enjoyed it everyone, and please leave comment, question, concern or anything else in a review for me!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"And Miltank narrowly avoids the devastatingly powerful Ice Fang attack!" The announcer declared excitedly.

Two decently large and powerful looking pokemon covered in recently formed bruises and scratches huffed loudly as they stood opposing each other. Miltank was a large pink bipedal pokemon that strongly resembled a cow with black hooded paws and utters. It's thin black tail was swinging back and forth, it's ears were pinned back against its head and it's lips were curled back into a snarl. Red wasn't any expert on the pokemon, but he remembered its basic information from trainer school. It was a normal type pokemon with a high defensive stat and a wide variety of moves that come with being a normal type. The pokemon could make a very formidable opponent with the right trainer.

The pokemon opposing Miltank was covered in long shaggy brown fur with two deadly tusks sticking out above its mouth. Red recognized the pokemon as Piloswine, the pre evolution of Mamoswine. Piloswine was an ice and ground type pokemon originally from the Hoenn region. It had a high Attack stat and from what Red had seen so far, it also had a pretty advanced arsenal of moves. The other two pokemon, a Swellow and Servine, had recently been knocked out, leaving each side with one remaining pokemon.

"Miltank, finish it off with a body slam!" Miltank's trainer, a young ginger haired woman, commanded.

"Don't give up Piloswine, counter with Mud Bomb!" Piloswine's trainer, a blue haired boy, yelled out.

Piloswine fired a series of mud bombs at Miltank, but the normal type pokemon was too fast to be hit. It slammed into Piloswine, sending the pokemon flying backwards and into unconsciousness. The crowd erupted in applause as the boy sadly returned his defeated pokemon and walked with his partner to shake the opposing team's hands.

"What a battle! Pilowswine was defeated by a powerful body slam attack, putting Roger of Twinleaf town and Jack of Black City out of the competition. Ashley of Goldenrod City and Tanner of Cerulean City will be advancing, their next battle taking place at 4:00 today," The announcer, a handsome man with a suit and brown hair, announced from the T.V.

Red turned away from the T.V., knowing their own battle would be up soon. He spotted the bracket displayed on the wall and walked over to it. The tournament lasted 3 days and as each day passed, the amount of pokemon per trainer was raised. On the first day, each trainer was only allowed one pokemon, the second day each trainer was allowed two, and the third day each trainer was allowed 3 pokemon. Red found his name and traced his finger from it to the top of the bracket. 5 wins and the evolutionary stones would be his and Leaf's.

Red realized that he hadn't spoken to or heard from Leaf for a while. He looked around for a moment before spotting Leaf sitting in the waiting room on a sofa biting her nails- a nervous habit she had recently picked up- and staring vacantly out the immense window.

"Hey Leaf."

Leaf jumped when she heard Red's voice, so immersed in her own thoughts that she was totally oblivious to him moments earlier. Pikachu hopped onto the Leaf's lap, giving her an excuse to lower her face and hid the blush forming on her cheeks. Red sat down next to her on the sofa, looking at her curiously.

"What's bothering you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It's uh... It's nothing," Leaf replied quickly.

Red glanced over at her and then shrugged, focusing his attention on the battle playing on T.V. Leaf bit her lip, flickered her eyes towards Red, and then opened her mouth only to close it again. She ran her fingers over the smooth surface of her pokeball before tightening her grip around the device. Truth be told, Leaf was extremely nervous, but confessing so to Red would make her feel weak and childish. She wrestled with her feelings for a moment before opening her mouth.

"Alright-" Leaf began, but was interrupted from a voice over the speaker.

"Will Leaf and Red of Pallet town please report to the battle area?" It announced.

Red shot up from his seat, excitement giving him an over abundance of energy. Leaf sat up a moment later, Pikachu taking his rightful place on Red's shoulder as she did so. Red speed walked towards the battle area, trying to act cool and collected, but too excited to walk any slower. Leaf followed behind him, her stomach doing nervous flips in her stomach while she did so. A pretty brunette lady greeted them once they arrived.

"Hello, you must be Leaf and Red?"

"That's us," Red replied

"Great. Now, you're battle will begin shortly. Wait until you hear your names announced, and then walk through those doors to begin your battle. You should already be familiar with the battling rules, so you know only one pokemon each. I'll keep the rest of your pokemon safe while you battle, and you can retrieve them as soon as you finish your battle. The best of luck to both of you." She smiled at them kindly as they handed over their pokeballs until they each only had one.

Leaf and Red walked towards the door, passing multiple different trainers that either looked disappointed or very pleased. They stopped in front of the doors, and exchanged a glance with each other.

"Ready?" Red asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Leaf gulped, and then quickly nodded, bracing herself for the blinding lights and the eyes of hundreds of people watching her.

"Oh and Leaf," Red looked at her, pausing as though for a dramatic effect, "don't forget to have some fun. Smile."

Leaf was forcing her very best smile when they heard their names. Red opened the door, his head held high and his eyes confident. The light was temporarily blinding, but once his eyes adjusted, Red could see the huge mass of people cheering in the stands, their hands waving excitedly as he made his way towards the battlefield. Leaf followed behind him a little more hesitantly. He turned his attention away from them, and towards his opponents, sizing them up. Both were older than them, probably in their mid to late twenties. The taller of the two men was blonde with a smug look on his dirty face. The smirk on his lopsided mouth seemed to indicate how little he thought of the two teens. The second man was only slightly smaller, but much thicker. He had a baby face with over sized ears and chubby cheeks.

"Look what we got here! Just a couple of rookies!" The blonde man taunted them, tossing his pokeball into the air and then catching it.

Red tensed, and sensing his trainer's anger, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark. It jumped from his shoulder and stood defensively in front of him, causing the man to chuckle. The referee called for the battle to start, and Leaf released her own pokemon. Charmeleon appeared, releasing a stream of red hot flames from its mouth.

"A rat and a lizard? That the best you can do?" He laughed at them, causing Red's blood to boil.

"Let's show 'em what a real pokemon looks like Rhydon," He called releasing his own pokemon.

A large, gray pokemon with a horn protruding from its forehead emerged in a flash of red light. It stood on its powerful hind legs, its tail angry swishing back and forth on the ground. The pokemon's whole skin looked as though it were armor made from rock. Compared to Pikachu, it made the electric pokemon look like a cuddly house pet. If Pikachu was intimidated by the powerful dual type rock and ground pokemon, he sure didn't show it. Leaf had pulled out her pokedex and was examining the pokemon, her face unusually pale. Thankfully, Charmeleon didn't seem to share his trainer's nerves.

The other trainer released his own pokemon, a humanoid grey pokemon with unbelievably huge muscles that it was proudly flexing. It wore a golden belt with a p on it as well as a pair of black briefs. The pokemon's red eyes were narrowed as it readied itself for battle.

"On the left side we have Zach of Oreburgh City fighting with a machoke, and Darren of Pewter City fighting with a rhydon. On the right side we have Leaf of Pallet Town fighting with a charmeleon, and Red also of Pallet Town fighting with a pikachu. It it obvious that Leaf and Red have the disadvantage here with Rhydon being a ground type. If they want to stay in this tournament they'll have to work together and use their pokemon's other strengths to outmatch their opposing team's type advantage."

Red ignored the announcer, so focused on the battle that the rest of the world seemed to fade into oblivion.

"Pikachu, use double team and then thunderbolt on Machoke!" Red commanded, pointing at the brawny fighting type pokemon.

"Metal Claw, Charmeleon," Leaf yelled a second later.

Pikachu began to run towards Machoke, it's body beginning to mysteriously blur and flash a bright white color. Suddenly, multiple copies of Pikachu appeared next to the real one, all running in sync. Machoke glanced around in confusion at the abundance of pikachu, its hands raised ready to strike, but unsure of what to attack. The pikachus' cheeks began to spark dangerously, miniature bolts of lightning dancing as they arched across the small red sacs.

"Take it out with a karate chop Machoke!" Zach called, his brown eyes round with worry.

Machoke karate chopped through a pikachu, but it simply vanished once it made contact. It turned to attack another one but it was too late. A powerful bolt of electricity struck Machoke, sending the pokemon tumbling backwards.

While Pikachu was battling Machoke, Charmeleon charged at the massive horn pokemon, his claws raised up high. Rhydon turned to face Charmeleon, unafraid of the upcoming attack. It crossed its arms in front of its chest, blocking the metal claw attack and quickly slashing back at Charmeleon. Charmeleon stumbled backwards, its tail flame flaring up angrily. Without waiting for further instructions, it released a red hot stream of flames right at Rhydon, hitting it head on. Practically unaffected by the attack, Rhydon charged forward, slamming into Charmeleon. Charmeleon flew backwards stunned and a little humiliated.

"That won't work Charmeleon. Its skin is resistant to fire type attacks. You'll just have to trust me with this," Leaf explained to her pokemon.

Charmeleon glanced back at his trainer, their eyes locking for a brief moment before he nodded.

Since most rock and ground type pokemon had high defense and attack stats, getting a physical attack to do real damage might be tricky. Rhydon was also resistant to fire type attacks, leaving Charmeleon's available arsenal about empty now. Leaf would have to tackle this battle from a different angle than she usually did.

"Rhydon, take down that wimp with a horn drill!" Darren cried out.

"Smokescreen!" Leaf called in retaliation.

Rhydon charged forward, its head lowered and the horn on top of its head glistening dangerously. Charmeleon stood his ground and released a plume of black smog from his mouth, engulfing the charging pokemon. With the two pokemon now covered in smoke, Leaf could only hope her pokemon made it out okay. Suddenly, Rhydon barreled out of the smoke at full speed, unable to slow down in time before it slammed into the wall. Leaf smiled as her pokemon emerged from the smoke, looking very proud and smug.

"Don't give up Machoke, use low sweep and then karate chop."

Before Pikachu had time to react, Machoke swept his small legs out from underneath him. Pikachu fell backwards, its back painfully slamming into the ground. Machoke brought its hand down swiftly, only barely missing the yellow pokemon as it rolled out of the way. Pikachu retaliated quickly with a thunderbolt attack, but Machoke was able to dodge the attack just in time.

"Quick attack!" Red instructed.

Pikachu, now on all fours, sprang forward, slamming into Machoke's gut. Machoke grunted, hobbling backwards as it clutched it stomach. It red eyes glared at Pikachu, anger dangerously flickering in them. After a command from its trainer, Machoke rushed forward, grabbing Pikachu's tail. Pikachu, too surprised to retaliate, was painfully thrust up, and then slammed harshly into the ground.

"That seismic toss leaves Pikachu reeling, giving Machoke a perfect opportunity to take it out. Meanwhile, Charmeleon is doing fairly well against Rhydon, who has the clear type advantage. Using strategy rather than brute strength, Charmeleon has managed to stay relatively unharmed," The announcer's voice rang out over the battlefield.

"Charmeleon, use flame burst!" Leaf commanded, knowing Pikachu could use some help.

Charmeleon opened his mouth, a large ball of swirling flames forming over its open jaws. When it was large enough, Charmander shot it at Rhydon. The attack hit head on, striking Rhydon directly in the chest, and actually appearing to do some damage. Once the flames struck, they exploded, embers flying everywhere in an almost mesmerizing display of bright colors. Some of the embers hit Machoke, sizzling as they connected with its skin. Machoke yelped, patting at the singeing hairs. Pikachu pushed himself back to his feet, shaking off the pain.

"Quick, metal claw!" Leaf called out.

Charmander rushed forwards, his claws glowing a metallic grey as he prepared to attack. Rhydon swipped at Charmeleon when he approched, but Charmeleon ducked under its claws. Charmeleon raked his claws up Rhydon's armored stomach swiftly, leaving red gashes as he did. Rhydon clutched its stomach as it staggered backwards, roaring loudly in pain.

"Machoke, finish it off with karate chop!"

Machoke attacked Pikachu, aiming to strike it with its hand, but pikachu jumped out of the way just in time. While still airborne, its cheeks began to spark. Pikachu's whole body lit up with electricity as it sent a thunderbolt attack right at Machoke. The electricity made contact with Machoke, sending the powerful pokemon down to its knees. Machoke crumpled to the ground, leaving Pikachu and Charmeleon against Rhydon.

"Wow, what a turn of events! We now have a two on one situation. This battle will really be a test of Darren's skill as a trainer and Rhydon's power."

To Red's surprise, Darren smiled as Machoke went down, an excited gleam forming in his eyes as he watched.

"Earthquake Rhydon!" Darren shouted.

Rhydon tensed its legs, and then sprang upwards. When it landed, it sent a powerful blast across the earth, cracking and breaking the ground.

"Jump over the attack and onto Rhydon!" Red quickly called out.

Just before the deadly attack reached Pikachu, he jumped up and over it. The small mouse pokemon landed on Rhydon's back, barely dodging the attack. Charmeleon wasn't as fortunate. The fire type pokemon couldn't escape the attack in time and was struck by the earthquake. Charmeleon flew backwards, slamming forcefully into the wall. Leaf sucked in her breathe, fearing that her pokemon had been knocked out. Charmeleon fell to the ground, his arms and legs barely supporting him. Then, with amazing effort, he pushed himself back to his feet. Even though Charmander was physically weak, his tail was burning brighter than ever and his body was radiating heat. Leaf recognized this as Charmeleon's blaze ability.

"Char!" He cried, releasing a powerful stream of flames from his mouth.

Rhydon was now thrashing around, trying to throw Pikachu off its back. The electric type was barely able to hold on, instinctively shocking Rhydon even though it had no effect.

"Pikachu, use growl."

Pikachu opened his mouth and snarled loudly, temporarily confusing Rhydon and giving Pikachu the chance to jump away from it safely. Charmeleon and Pikachu exchanged a glance once Pikachu appeared at his side, then they turned back to their opponent.

"Pikachu, use double team to distract Rhydon and then quick attack."

"Charmeleon, use scary face!"

Pikachu began to run, creating copies of itself while it did. Charmeleon focused on Rhydon, his face beginning to darken as he bared his extremely sharp teeth at Rhydon. Rhydon stepped back, frightened by Charmeleon and confused by the multiple Pikachu's charging at it. They all jumped forward, striking Rhydon in unison. Rhydon fliched when Pikachu hit him, but the attack did little damage. Rhydon was low on health points, but a few quick attacks would still do little to dent its remaining health.

"Rhydon, take out that pikachu with rock throw."

Rhydon bent down, grabbed at large chunk of earth, and hurled it at Pikachu. Pikachu nimbly dodged the first rock, but it wasn't prepared for the second one. It slammed into Pikachu, sending the little pokemon to the ground. Pikachu struggled to push himself up, but he couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed to the ground at Red's feet, unconscious. Red gently scooped up his pokemon, cradling him in his arms. Leaf stared at Pikachu, and then looked at Red.

"You can do it Leaf," He encouraged her, giving her a firm nod.

Leaf turned back to the field, a new determination in her eyes.

"With each team down to one pokemon, every move could be their last. Both pokemon look like they could collapse at any second."

"Finish this with a horn drill Rhydon!"

"Counter with Flamethrower!"

Rhydon charged forwards, its lethal horn lowered and pointed at Charmeleon. Charmeleon took in a deep breathe, and then released an incredibly powerful flamethrower attack. Rhydon tried to charge through it, but it found itself suddenly overcome by the torrent of flames. It fell to one knee, only trying to shield its face now. Charmeleon didn't let up though, putting everything it had into the attack. Finally, the beast fell to the ground with a loud thump. Charmeleon stared at it through narrowed eyes before raising its head and letting out a victorious cry. The crowd burst into wild cheers, the applause almost deafening.

"We did it!" Leaf cried rushing out and hugging her pokemon. Red smiled as he followed her, still carrying Pikachu in his arms. Darren stared dumbstruck at his fallen pokemon, unable to believe he had been bested by two rookie trainers. His partner walked towards Red and Leaf to shake their hands, snapping Darren out of it. He returned his pokemon and followed, shaking each of their hands begrudgingly.

"And the winners are Leaf and Red of Pallet town! What an amazing battle that was too. Zach and Darren are now out of the competition. The phenomenal duo of Leaf and Red will be competing again at 5:00 P.M. tonight," The announced said over the roar from the crowd.

They exited the stadium once they had retrieved their other pokemon, both of their heads held high. A pair of boys that Red recognized as Blue and the kid that Leaf had danced with, were standing by the T.V. talking to each other. When Leaf saw them, she seemed strangely excited considering how much she disliked Blue. She walked towards them, waving happily.

"Hey guys!" She called.

They turned towards her, and while Blue just stared at her, the other guy waved happily back. Red was a bit taken back when he saw his face and the outfit he was wearing, both of which were practically identical to Red's. A pikachu was also perched on his shoulder, its ears twitching similar to how Red's own Pikachu's would.

"That was a great battle Leaf!" Red's twin congratulated her, his pikachu agreeing.

"Thanks Yellow. I don't think you ever got a chance to meet my partner Red. We've known each other forever and have been traveling together," Leaf explained, indicating Red.

"Nice to meet you Red, I'm Yellow." He extended his hand, which Red shook with a curt nod.

"Holy shit, you two are clones," Blue blutered out.

Leaf glared at him, while Red and Yellow glanced at each other.

"What? They are! I mean they even carry around the same pokemon on their shoulder," He pointed out defensively.

Simultaneously, Red and Yellow looked at their own pikachu before looking at each other's pikachu. Leaf sighed loudly, and then forcefully smiled at Yellow.

"So, when is your next battle?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the clone subject.

"You don't see it?" Blue interrupted her.

"Of course I see it!" She snapped, and then turned back to Yellow smiling politely.

"We battle in about an hour," He replied, glancing between them.

"Well, good luck then. We should heal our pokemon now," Red spoke up, turning and walking towards the healing center.

Leaf jogged to his side. He walked quickly to the desk, not once taking his eyes away from it. Leaf wasn't exactly sure why Red was acting so weird towards Yellow, but she really didn't feel like asking about it. They handed their pokemon over to the pokemon nurse with a thanks before finding a seat.

"You did great out there Leaf," Red said, finally breaking the silence.

Leaf couldn't help but blush from the compliment, "Thanks, you too."

"You've improved a lot as a trainer," He commented.

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you." She smiled at him.

"We should go watch them once our pokemon are healed."

Leaf nodded in agreement, watching as the nurse gave Pikachu a pat on the head. Red opened his mouth, struggling to find the courage and the right words to say what he wanted to.

"Leaf, the other night at the dance-" He was cut off when the nurse called his name.

He turned without hesitation and happily received his pokemon. Red didn't even glance back at Leaf, acting as though he wasn't about to say something to her. He scratched Pikachu behind the ear as he nonchalantly walked towards the stadium, leaving Leaf feeling more confused than ever.

**Sorry about the really long wait guys, I promise to do my best not to ever do that again. Anyways, I'm sure you can probably figure out that the next few chapters will mostly be battles. So, I was thinking that if you wanted to see Red and Leaf face off against some type of pokemon to leave a review for me. I'll do my best to use everyone's pokemon, but no promises. Like always, thanks for reading, and please follow, favorite, or leave me a review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Excuse me ma'am? Your pokemon are all healed," a gentle voice informed Leaf.

Leaf turned, her eyes meeting with the light blue eyes of Nurse Joy. Leaf glanced at the doorway where Red had disappeared into and then approached the counter with a forced smile. She thanked Nurse Joy as she clipped the small red and white balls onto her belt. The wild cheers of the crowd were audible from the makeshift pokemon center, reminding Leaf of the battle raging inside the stadium. Leaf took a step towards the doorway before changing her mind and instead plopping down on a plush chair. She absentmindedly picked at one of the seams on the couch as her mind wandered back to Red's strange behavior a few minutes ago.

Even though he was, without a doubt, her best friend, he was as much a mystery to her today as he had been the first day they had meet. He had little to say, and almost never expressed his feelings. Leaf didn't know what to make of his sudden deflection towards her. He was the one who brought up the dance, yet he had acted as though he hadn't said anything in the first place. Leaf couldn't help but feel a spark of anger ignite in her as she remembered the nonchalant way he left her behind. She breathed deeply through her nose, trying to calm her nerves before she did anything she'd regret. Leaf stood up, deciding that she was going to go in there and make him talk to her.

She walked through the doorway with her head high while her eyes searched the crowd. A familiar face stood out in the crowd, her heart shaped face framed with perfect blonde curls. Leaf smiled as she watched Shannon cheerfully chat with a blonde guy sitting next to her. It only took her a moment more to locate Red sitting near the edge of railings, Pikachu eagerly watching the match from on top of his hat. Leaf stepped towards him before stopping herself and looking back at Shannon and the boy. Leaf turned, changing her mind. Right now she just needed some space from Red more than anything else. She made her way into the crowd, slipping past unhappy people trying to watch the battle as she approached her friend.

"Hey Leaf!" Shannon called, waving her hand at Leaf.

Leaf smiled as she greeted her in reply, sitting in the empty seat next to Shannon. Now that she could actually see the boy sitting next to Shannon, Leaf couldn't help but find herself momentarily breathless. He had the most piercing light blue eyes that Leaf had ever seen, so light that they reminded her of frost on a winter morning and long full lashes that swept his cheeks every time he light blonde hair barely passed his ears and was the perfect type of wavy that every girl dreamed of. His full lips were parted into a half smile and his skin glowed in a way that shouldn't be possible for a hormonal teenager. He had such a sharp jawline that Leaf swore that if she were to reach out to touch it, it would leave her with a cut. Leaf watched him stupidly with her mouth slightly ajar, so speechless that all she could do was stare. He chuckled light-hearted as she stared, like he got those kinds of looks all the time, making her heart hammer crazily inside her chest. Realizing she was simply staring at him, a blush crept into her cheeks, and she looked down at the popcorn littered floor.

"Leaf, this is Kyle, my partner," Shannon introduced the boy.

"Nice to meet you Leaf." He extended his hand, giving her a lopsided smile that made Leaf's stomach do some funny little flips.

"Hi," she stuttered, trying to control her blush as she shook his hand.

"We saw your battle, and you were great! I can't believe your charmander already evolved, and he looks so strong!" Shannon complimented her.

"Yeah, it looks as though you two have a really strong bond," Kyle added, baring into her eyes.

"Thanks." Leaf smiled, feeling better.

She looked at the battle being fought below them between a fierce mightyena, floette, and crustle. The mightyena and floette were attempting to take down the crustle, but thanks to the crustle's strong defensive moves, this was proving to be quite a challenging. Leaf spotted Red beneath her, feeding Pikachu popcorn as they intently watched the battle. It didn't even look as though he noticed she was missing. Leaf felt her breath catch in her throat at the thought and looked away from him.

"When is your next battle?" Leaf asked, clearing her throat.

"We battle in about an hour. What about you and Red? Where is he by the way?" Shannon replied, her brow furrowed.

"We battle again at 6:00, so it's not for a while and, uh, Red sitting down there. He was acting kinda… weird, so I decided that it would be much more fun to watch the battle with you," Leaf explained, gaining an understanding nod from Shannon.

"So where are you from Leaf?" Kyle asked, making her heart flutter in a way she wasn't sure if she liked.

"Pallet Town. It's this little town by Viridian City. Where are you from?" She asked in reply.

"I'm from Goldenrod City in the Johto region. I'd always loved the Kanto region, so when I turned 13, I decided to come journey here instead. I haven't regretted a second of it either." He sighed, reminiscing.

Leaf fumbled for the right words to say next. She wanted desperately to keep the conversation running but was too flustered to think of anything interesting to respond with. Luckily, Shannon came to her rescue. "How was the dance? That guy you were dancing with was really cute."

"Gray? It was pretty fun actually." Leaf blushed as she replied.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Kyle asked a little too quickly.

"No, no, no. It's nothing like that," Leaf spluttered, her facing growing even redder.

Kyle chuckled at her response, making her head spin. Leaf suddenly became very aware of how much she was acting like a giddy school girl over Kyle. She might as well have been drooling as she looked and talked to him. Without thinking, she sought Red out in the sea of heads surronding them. Her stomach clenched painfully when she saw him staring right at her from his seat, his brown eyes narrowed and a frown tugging at the corner of his lips. Summoning her courage, Leaf tilted her chin up and boldly meet his gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before Red huffed and looked away, a scowl visible on his face.

The battle beneath them had progressed and now instead of two on one, only the crustle and floette were left on the field. Both appeared to be in pretty bad shape, and the battle could go either way. The floette ended up winning, finishing off the crustle with a magical leaf attack. Leaf watched as the trainers from both sides walked to the middle to shake hands.

"We better get going Leaf. Are you going to watch our battle?" Shannon asked eagerly.

"Yeah, of course!" Leaf smiled at Shannon, trying not to let her conflicting feelings show on her face.

"Alright, see ya then!"

"Bye Leaf." Kyle gave her a small wave as they walked out.

Watching them leave, Leaf suddenly felt very lonely. She grabbed a pokeball, and released Oddish. The small grass pokemon happily jumped onto her lap and snuggled up to Leaf, making her almost immediately feel much better. For the next half hour, Leaf watched the battle being fought, purposely avoiding looking anywhere near Red for fear he would be giving her those seething looks again. Oddish's mouth was hanging open as she leaned into Leaf, a soft snoring coming from the back of her throat. After what seemed like an eternity, the battle subsided. Cheers erupted as Shannon sauntered onto the field with Kyle smiling brightly next to her. Their opponents were two girls, though Leaf couldn't tell much more than that besides the color of their hair. The referee swung his flag down swiftly once both teams had taken their sides, indicating the start of the battle. Shannon elegantly tossed her pokeball, releasing a small squirrel like pokemon. It opened its arms and jumped into the air, revealings the webbing between its arms and torso. Kyle's pokemon was a dark bipedal pokemon with nasty looking claws. It had a red head dress on and red feathers stuck out of both its ears and tail. Leaf pulled out her pokedex to examine the pokemon, which turned out to be a weavile and an emolga. The opposing trainers had released a jigglypuff and a golbat, who looked weak in comparison.

Leaf was too far away to hear the commands being made, but could see the pokemon respond to them. Jigglypuff took a skip and then began to roll quickly towards Weavile in what Leaf recognized to be a rollout attack. Weavile easily dodged the attack with incredibly speed and countered with a slash as Jigglypuff flew by, sending Jigglypuff skittering backwards. Meanwhile, Emolga and Golbat were circling each other as Emolga fired electric attacks that just couldn't seem to hit their mark. Golbat narrowed dodged another attack before diving forward and sinking its teeth onto Emolga's arm. Emolga panicked for a moment, but it listened to its trainer's voice of reason and countered with a powerful thunderbolt attack that sent Golbat spiraling to the ground. Golbat struggled to maintain control by furiously flapping its wings, and narrowly avoiding colliding with the ground. While it was distracted, Weavile shot forward and blew a breath of icy wind at Golbat, .surrounding the flying type pokemon in a cloud of jarringly cold ice.

The golbat couldn't take any more, and collapsed to the ground unconscious. Leaf stared in amazement, surprised that they could take out the pokemon so quickly. They must be a formidable duo. She wondered what Red and her looked like in comparison to them.

"Wow! Golbat is already out of the battle, leaving Jigglypuff alone against the dynamic duo. Things are getting real bad real fast," The announcer narrated the battle.

Shannon pointed her finger at the pink pokemon, and Emolga began to circle around the arena, moving so fast that it almost appeared as though there was an afterimage of it. It suddenly dove down, striking Jigglypuff twice before retreating. Before Weavile could attack, Jigglypuff began to sing its infamous song, putting both pokemon to sleep.

"Emolga landed a powerful acrobatic attack, but Jigglypuff countered by putting the two opposing pokemon to sleep. Unless one of them manages to wake up in time, the battle could turn in Jigglypuff's favor."

Leaf watched as Shannon shouted at her pokemon, who was peacefully sprawled on the ground and snoozing, to wake up, but it was to no avail. Kyle silently urged his pokemon to wake up as Jigglypuff rounded up for another rollout attack. The pink pokemon slammed into the sleeping body of emolga, sending the pokemon flying backwards. Despite being hit hard, Emolga was still sleeping soundly thanks to the powerful sing attack. Jigglypuff circled back moving faster than before, this time charging at Weavile. The pokemon's red eyes suddenly snapped open, flickering to the advancing attack attack before barely jumping out of the way in time. The pokemon landed lightly on its feet and faced the pink blur heading the opposite direction as it rounded up for another attack. Leaf couldn't see Kyle, but she was almost positive he was smirking right now at his luck.

"Finish this battle with night slash!" Kyle called out.

Weavile's claws began to glow purple, and the pokemon advanced towards Jigglypuff with lethal speed. Jigglypuff turned quickly, attempting to bulldoze Weavile over before it could land the attack. Weavile flipped over the rollout attack, slashing at Jigglypuff as it did so. It gracefully landed the flip with its head bowed while Jigglypuff crumpled behind it, swirls replacing its crowd erupted in cheers for the pokemon's display of agility and power.

Leaf watched them return their pokemon and shake their opponents hands numbly. They were really good. Really really good. That was pretty obvious from the short battle Leaf had just witnessed. The real question was whether Leaf was good enough to keep up with them. The thought bothered Leaf, and she quickly stood up in her chair. If she wasn't as good of trainer as them right now, then she was going to be by the time they had to battle. She held Oddish in her arms, who was now yawning and curiously looking at her. Leaf made her way back to the lobby and then towards the doors leading outside.

A light wind brushed across Leaf's check as she stepped outside, giving her momentary relief from the heat the sun was bearing down on them. Many trainers must have had the same idea as her, because pokemon were training everywhere she looked. Leaf set Oddish down, suddenly feeling self conscious of how she was babying her pokemon. She released Rattata from his pokeball as well, hoping the two would be a pretty good match for each other.

"Okay Oddish, I now you don't have ton of different moves, but right now we are going to work on your acid and absorb attacks. Rattata I want you to try your best to dodge these attacks. If you get too tired at any time just let me know and we can take a break," Leaf explained.

Both pokemon nodded excitedly. Oddish opened its small mouth and fired a small blob of acid at Rattata that seemed to move in slow motion as it shot through the air. Rattata easily dodged the attack, and easily dodged the next attack that Oddish sent at him. Oddish, obviously frustrated, began to rapid fire them to no avail.

"Oddish, trying firing it where he is going to be, instead of where he is at the exact moment you attack. One of the most crucial parts of battle is to be able to predict your opponent's next move," Leaf informed them helpfully.

Oddish nodded, and tried again, this time with a little more success. Rattata yelped when the acid struck him, but it didn't seem to do much damage. Next Oddish concentrated hard as she used her absorb attack. Her eyes glowed red for a moment before twin beams shot out, aimed at Rattata. He managed to dodge most of the attacks, but when the beams did hit, Rattata's body glowed red as energy was absorbed through them. After Oddish seemed to be greatly improving in the small amount of time they had been working on accuracy, Leaf decided to move onto something else.

"Oddish, now Rattata is going to try and hit you with a quick attack. You have to anticipate the move, and dodge it," Leaf instructed, giving her pokemon a confident smile.

Oddish nodded, tensed as she waited for Rattata to attack. Rattata sprung forward, slamming into Oddish before the poor pokemon even had a chance to react. This happened a couple more times before Leaf called for Rattata to stop and let Oddish rest. Oddish was panting heavily and gloomily looking down at the grass. Before Leaf could walk over to comfort her pokemon, Oddish's eyes lit up like a light as she spotted a butterfly fluttering by. Mesmerized by its vibrantly colored wings, Oddish momentarily forgot about its defeat and suddenly jumped to her feet. Oddish began to chase after the flying insect happily even though she would be incapable of capturing the butterfly because she lacked arms. Leaf was about to scold her pokemon for goofing off during practice, but as she watched Oddish stumble and fall, she was unable to keep from giggling. Her giggles were infectious, and soon all three of them were laughing. Leaf lost track of time as they completely forgot about training and just goofed off together. Rattata would teasingly chase after Oddish, and in response the pokemon would chase after Leaf and so forth. She was in the middle of scooping up Rattata when she heard her name being shouted. Leaf spun around, her smile vanishing and her stomach dropping as she spotted Red stalking towards them.

"What are you doing? Our battle is in 10 minutes!" He growled.

"We were training, and we got, uh, a little carried away," Leaf explained embarrassed.

"You should have told me where you were going. You can't be running off all the time," he scolded her.

Leaf felt a spark of anger in her gut, and opened her mouth to protest, but decided all it would do was throw fuel on the already raging fire. She followed him back inside, neither of them talking. They went backstage, where a panicked looking attendant let out a breath of relief when she spotted them. She ushered them over to the door and gave them the same instructions as the last attendant had given them earlier that day. After handing over their pokeballs, Leaf heard the announcer announcing who the winners were of the previous battle. This was it. She struggled to control her hammering heart as the doors were opened as they were bathed in light.

The cheers of the crowd weren't quite as deafening as they were before, but it did little to calm the storm of nerves in Leaf. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the blinding light, but when they did she spotted their opponents, who were two girls, obviously twins, that looked to be around their age. Their long curly purple hair was pulled into identical ponytails to match their identical yellow doll like dresses. They smiled and waved, soaking in all the attention. The referee waved his flags, indicating the start of the battle.

"Go Petilil!"

"Go Cottonee!"

Both of the twin released their pokemon simultaneously. The petilil was a small light green pokemon with a few leaves sprouting from its head. The pokemon somewhat resembled an onion with no arms or legs, prompting Leaf to wonder how it moved. The Cottonee was a small, white pokemon with a leaf sticking out on both sides of its circular body. It looked fluffy, and very similar to cotton. Neither pokemon looked especially fierce and both were obviously grass types. Leaf wondered how they could have defeated such tough trainers their first round only to face these pokemon the second round. Psyduck stood in front of her, clutching her head as she examined her opponents. Nidoran stood in front of Red while he pawed the ground eagerly awaiting a command.

"Nidoran start off strong with a horn attack," Red instructed.

Nidoran charged forward, jabbing Cottonee with its sharp, venomous horn. The pokemon cried out in pain, looking weary a moment before pulsing a dark purple. Red smiled as the pokemon's trainer cried out in shock, both of them recognizing the symptoms of poison. Cottonee attempted to fire a razor leaf attack at Nidoran, but he dodged the leaves with relative ease. Since Cottonee was a dual grass and fairy type, Red knew that one well placed poison attack could knock out this pokemon easily.

On the other side of the field, Psyduck wasn't faring quite as well as Red and Nidoran. Even though the pokemon hadn't taken any hits yet, she seemed as though she were in a decent amount of pain, distracting her from the battle. Psyduck narrowly avoided a leech seed attack that could have been deadly. Psyduck countered with a water pulse attack, which seemed to do little damage to the petilil.

"Mega drain!"

Petilil concentrated on Psyduck before its eyes began to glow green and two beams of green light shot out and connected with Psyduck, reminding Leaf of Oddish's absorb attack. Psyduck cried out in pain as Petilil sucked away its health, leaving the poor pokemon even more tired than before. Psyduck shook her head, anger in her eyes. She focused on Petilil and her eyes began to glow a strange purple. She let out a cry and suddenly Petilil was covered in the same purple glow. Leaf watched in awe as the grass pokemon was raised off the ground and thrown into the side of the stadium.

"Wow! What a powerful confusion attack! Psyducks are known to have incredible headaches thanks to their powerful psychic powers and when the headache becomes too much to bear, they release all of this power." A man somewhere in some press box announced

Psyduck seemed greatly relieved as it released all the pent up energy in its head and Leaf could tell her pokemon was ready to really get into this battle. Nidoran opened its mouth and a series of purple needles shot from its mouth and connected with Cottonee, who wavered a moment before collapsing to the ground unconscious. Nidoran let out a victorious cry before suddenly beginning to glow white. Red watched excitedly as Nidoran's shape began to grow and change before his very eyes. No matter how often he watched an evolution, Red never really thought he would be any less amazed by the transformation. When the light dissipated, a nidorino stood in Nidoran's place, its horn looking even more fierce and deadly than before. The large pokemon let out a cry and lowered his head towards Petilil. Nidoran charged forward, but somehow Petilil managed to evade the huge horn protruding from Nidoran's forehead. It couldn't dodge the sneaky water pulse that Psyduck had fired at it though.

Petilil faced the two pokemon, breathing heavily as it realized the impending doom that had come upon it. It stubbornly fire another mega drain attack at Psyduck, but the water pokemon knew better this time and dodged. Nidoran took the opportunity to knock it to the ground with a strong poison sting attack. Petilil struggled to get up, but collapsed to the ground unconscious. Leaf happily greeted her pokemon as she excitedly jumped into her arms. Leaf gave her encouraging praise as she spun her pokemon around before returning Psyduck to her pokeball. Red had approached Nidorino and was scratching him behind the ear as he thanked him for battling for him. After returning them to their pokeballs, the 4 trainers meet in the middle, shaking each others hands. Leaf could hear a voice speaking over the loudspeaker, but she payed little attention as she walked out of the arena with her head and confidence high.

After the battle, Leaf and Red retrieved their pokemon and headed over to the pokemon center area. Nurse Joy happily accepted their pokemon and asked them to wait patiently.

"Hey Red and Leaf! You guys were awesome out their!" Leaf recognized Shannon's voice as she called out to them.

Leaf smiled in response, glancing from Shannon, to her incredibly attractive partner. Leaf felt Red stiffen up next to her, and couldn't help but feel a little irritated at his behavior.

"Thanks Shannon, you were pretty great yourself."

"I don't think you two have met?" Shannon asked, referring to Kyle and Red.

"No, we haven't." Kyle shook his head, examining Red.

Red just continued to scowl as Kyle extended his hand. He hesitated for a moment, and then shook it. Leaf tried to subtly elbow Red in the side, praying he would stop acting as though he had something shoved up his butt.

"Red, this is Kyle. Kyle, this is Red," Leaf introduced them.

"Nice to meet you Red. I'm sure we'll become great friends in the future." His smile was almost challenging, which only made Red stiffen up even more.

Ignoring Red, Leaf happily chatted with the two for a while. They were both very easy to talk to, much easier than talking to Red. Leaf couldn't help but notice that Kyle kept glancing over at Red, who was now completely ignoring them and sitting down in one of the chairs with his newly retrieved pokeballs. She felt bad that Red was being such a jerk towards him though she didn't know what to do about it. After a while, Shannon and Kyle parted ways, leaving Leaf alone with Red. She thanked Nurse Joy as she picked up her healed pokemon and turned towards Red, seething with anger.

"What was that?" She demanded, venom dripping from her word.

"I don't like that guy. There's something off about him. I just don't think you should hang out with him anymore," Red huffed, dismissing her anger so casually.

"Excuse me?! Since when do you get to decide who I hang out with? Last time I checked, we agreed on traveling around as equals, but lately it seems like you'd rather just boss me around. You are not my babysitter, and you don't need to know where I am every second of the day Red!" She suddenly exploded, all of her pent up anger being released.

She had Red's full attention now, and he stood up to face her. She hadn't noticed it early, but there were dark bags under his usually sharp eyes. Leaf wondered for a moment what was bothering him, but anger clouded over any concern she might have felt for him.

"We are equals Leaf. I'm sorry if you don't feel that we are, but I've always tried to treat you as such. We are also friends, and I'm just trying to be a good friend," he tried explaining to her searching for the right words.

"Well here's a newsflash then. You've been a pretty crappy friend lately. Friends don't ignore their friends and they sure as hell don't try to control everything. Instead of just assuming you know everything, why don't you just ask for once in your life?" She yelled, jabbing her finger at her chest.

Red took a step back, his stomach clenching painfully as she yelled. Was he really a bad friend? He hadn't meant to brush her off earlier, he just needed to be alone for a moment. Suddenly, all of his defenses were down and he found himself fumbling with the right words to say.

"I never knew you thought that… I was only trying to keep you safe," He replied quietly, defeated.

Apparently those were not the right words to say either because before he knew it, Leaf had blown a fuse.

"You don't need to keep me safe! I can take care of myself! Even though you may not think I'm strong enough, I am. I'm a good trainer Red, and I don't need you to protect me." She was yelling, but by the end her voice had considerably softened.

"I don't need you to protect me," she repeated, her voice cracking.

Her vision was began blurring as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and threatened to choke her. Leaf took a small step backwards, away from Red. It was as though a heavy weight was pressing down on her chest, making it hard for her to breath and even harder to control her overwhelming emotions. She was suddenly aware of people watching them, watching _her_ and she knew she couldn't take anymore. Red could only stand and watch as Leaf turned and ran away, tears streaming down her face. He stood there motionless and for the first time in his life he felt defeated.

**Well happy thanksgiving guys! I read over this chapter quite a bit, so hopefully there aren't any grammatical errors in it. Things are getting pretty heated with Leaf and Red and it was only a matter of time before one of them snapped. Whose side do you take? Don't forget to follow, favorite or leave me a review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Red stood in the waiting area, watching as Leaf rushed out the door, her long brown hair disappearing as it slammed shut behind her. His heart was pounding so hard that Red could hardly think over the sound of it. His hands began to shake uncontrollably, and he collapsed into a plush chair before he could have a nervous breakdown. Red pushed his palms up against his temples, focusing on steadying his breath in an attempt to try to calm himself down. Pikachu climbed down from Red's shoulder and into his lap. Pikachu looked up at him with a look of concern on his cute yellow face. Red reached out and stroked his Pokemon, assuring him that everything was okay and Red just needed a second to get himself together. He was pretty positive that people were staring at him, but he couldn't care less. What really mattered was that his best friend had just stormed away after declaring him an awful friend.

Every fiber of Red's being wanted nothing more than to run after her and make things right, but Red knew Leaf, and he knew that what she needed right now more than anything else was space. So instead of running to her, he sat in a chair and hoped that she could find the kindness in her heart to forgive him. He waited a minute and then two before getting up and walking towards the door. Pikachu rushed to his heel, glancing up at his trainer nervously.

Red hurried past the training area and headed towards downtown. Rush hour was just ending, and there were still lots of cars clustering up the roads and annoyed honking of hours. Red tried to ignore the noise, but every honk made him jump. His eyes searched the streets, looking for any place that he could go to silence the noise and take his mind off Leaf's words that were still ringing in his ears. He spotted a sign that hung over a friendly looking restaurant called _Steve's Pizza Place_ and headed towards it.

The restaurant was Italian themed with an overwhelming smell of mouth watering pizza wafting through the air. A friendly waiter led him to an empty booth that Pikachu and him eagerly slid into. After ordering the smallest size of pepperoni pizza and two waters, Red settled back into the booth. Pikachu didn't say anything, but the tilt of his head indicated that he wanted Red to talk about it.

"Is what she said true? Am I really a bad friend?" Red blurted out.

Pikachu shook his head vigorously, assuring Red that he was not a bad friend with encouraging cries.

"Why is she so defensive of me wanting to protect her? I've never said she was weak. In fact, she's the only trainer that has beaten me in battle so far," he pointed out.

Pikachu nodded in agreement. He paused to think for a moment and then replied by declaring his name and gesturing with his hands.

"Maybe you're right. I guess I may be being overprotective because of the whole team rocket thing," he agreed, lowering his voice as he said team rocket.

Pikachu then gave him a look that insinuated that Red needed to say something about that.

"Yeah, I know. It's not that I don't trust her. It's just that I don't want her to get mixed up in all of this if she doesn't need to be. I feel like it's my burden to carry, and by telling her I'll just be dragging her into my problems."

"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu protested, shaking his head.

"I know she would have told me. I would have wanted her tell me, so I could help. I guess it makes sense that she would want the same."

Red paused, watching Pikachu as he thought.

"I'm going to tell her that they're hunting me, but I won't tell her the exact reason why. The less she knows, the safer she'll be. I'll only tell her as much as she needs to know, and no more," Red decided, feeling a lot better now that he had talked through his problems.

Pikachu gave him an approving nod just as their pizza arrived. The two ate in silence, savoring every bite of the mouthwatering pizza and mulling over the argument. Red wondered how Leaf would react to his news. He played over a dozen of different scenarios in his mind, but each one just ended worse than the last. Red pushed the thoughts of it our of his and tried to focus on something he knew much more about: Pokemon. In all the chaos after the battle, Red hadn't gotten the opportunity to celebrate the evolution of Nidorino. The thought of his newest Pokemon filled him with much needed joy. He would have liked to use Nidorino in the battle tomorrow, but Red figured his other Pokemon should get a chance to prove themselves as well.

Pidgeotto and Ivysaur could make a good combination, and then maybe Pikachu and… Sandshrew? As much as Red wanted to use Sandshrew in battle, he just wasn't confident enough in his Pokemon's abilities yet, which unfortunately reduced him to 4 Pokemon. He drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully as he sipped his water. Red needed to fix things between him and Leaf, and not just for the sake of their friendship, but also for the sake of their upcoming battles. Red left money on the table and slid out of the booth.

It didn't take long for Red and Pikachu to reach the Pokemon center, but once they reached it, Red was immensely disappointed. According to Nurse Joy, Leaf was nowhere to be found. Deciding some training would be a good way to calm his hyperactive nerves, he made his way to the training area. While they didn't train for very long, Red made sure that it was intense enough to strengthen his Pokemon. After they finished training, Red took a seat in the Pokemon Center's lobby and waited. The T.V. was on, and the professional man on it was droning on about some celebrity family that Red didn't care about.

He waited and waited for Leaf to return, the sun sinking beneath the horizon as he sat patiently in the lobby. Red wondered what she was doing right now, and if she was even thinking about him anymore. Throughout Red's whole childhood, Leaf had been one of the only constant things in his life. Red wasn't necessarily dirt poor, but he was only a step above it. With his mom's career constantly changing from one low paying job to the next, Red's house was faced with the threat of foreclosure just about every other month. Red had done everything he could to help his mom out, but in the end he was only a child and could only do so much. While his mother undoubtedly loved him very much, her work schedule was very random, and she was often gone when Red woke up and gone when he went to bed. In many ways, Red had become very self-sufficient along with protective of what little he had. He had never thought of himself as poor, or envied the other kids for what they had. In the end, all their extra fancy stuff was just stuff and there were more important things in life, like relationships. Like his friendship with Leaf.

Lost in thought, Red barely noticed his eyes growing heavy and his mind slowing down to a crawl and before long, he was passed out on the couch. He awoke to Pikachu shouting at him and poking him roughly. Red shot up, momentarily panicked as he looked around in confusion. Pikachu urgently pointed at the door and tugged on Red's shirt. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, stifled a yawn, and then glanced at the door. Leaf walked through the doors with Charmander faithfully at her side, her long brown hair swishing behind her with every step.

"Leaf!" Red didn't realize he had said the words until they had already passed through his lips.

She turned at the sound of her name, her big brown eyes locking with his own. In half a second, they seemed to convey a hundred messages to him that ranged from relief to bitterness. She paused, watching as Red scrambled towards her, putting his fallen hat back onto his head.

"Leaf, I've been waiting all night for you." It probably wasn't the greatest way to start the conversation, but it was the first thing that popped into Red's head. Leaf seemed to understand that was his way of saying that he was relieved to see her.

"Well, here I am," she replied, an awkward silence spreading between them.

"Can we talk?" Red asked nervously.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Leaf snapped back at him.

Red choose to ignore the comment and continue on. His mind was a jumble as he struggled to grasp the right words that seemed to be floating around in his head. He was treading on very thin ice here, and one wrong word might send Leaf into another angry frenzy. From his very limited experience with women, Red had learned a couple of very important facts. Women were always right, even when they were wrong. They also could take practically anything the wrong way, so you had to be careful how you worded things. Red figured pointing out either of these facts to her would be disastrous, so he decided to keep them to himself. Taking a deep breath and gathering his confidence, he began his long apology.

"Look Leaf, I'm really sorry about our fight early. I never ever meant to insult you in any way. You are a great trainer, really. There have just been a couple of things I've been struggling with lately. I can tell you about them later in a less public place if you want, but that still isn't any excuse for the way I treated you. You're right, and I shouldn't try to control everything about your life. You are one of the most important people in my life, and I'll do anything to make this all up to you," He finished, praying to God that she would just accept his apology.

Leaf studied him, biting the inside of her cheek nervously as he talked. She regarded him for a moment, her large brown eyes searching his own for any sign of his true feelings. She suddenly rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a strangely comforting hug. They stayed that way for a moment, so close that Red could hear her heart beating in her chest. Leaf pulled away from him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"You're a good guy Red, and sometimes even good guys say the wrong things." Leaf tucked a piece of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear.

"So, are we good?" Red felt an immense wave of relief wash over him.

"Yeah, I guess so. I would like to continue this talk in a less public place though," She replied.

"Okay, but first let's agree to never fight like that again. If we have something to say, we just say it."

"Alright, that's fair."

Once inside their room, Red shut the door and turned back to Leaf. She was looking at him expectantly, her head cocked slightly to the side and eyes slightly narrowed. Red took a deep breath as he mulled over how he could begin to explain what kind of mess he was really in. If he said too much, then he could potentially be putting Leaf in danger, but if he didn't say enough it might spark up another fight.

"So… Leaf, I've been hiding something from you for a while now. Everything started three days before we left, the night when it rained. We had planned to go explore the forest, but we decided against it when the storm came through. Of course, being the stubborn person I am, I decided to go ahead and do it anyways." Red paused, his face darkening as he took a second to compose himself.

"I had just spotted an uncommon Pokemon when something came crashing through the forest. It was a man, Mr. A, and he was in really bad condition, like really bad condition. His clothes were shredded and bloodstained, as though something had clawed him to shreds. Without a second thought, I ran forward to help him, and barely made it to him before he collapsed. I tried to ask him what happened, but he quieted me. He said there was something he needed to tell me, that he knew I was trustworthy, a good trainer. What he knew was of the highest importance, and if I told anyone it would bring destruction and chaos for the whole region of Kanto. People would be coming for me, and they would do anything to get what the information I knew, including torture," Red gave Leaf a moment to digest all the information he was feeding her.

"So all this time, you've known this huge secret and you never told me?" Leaf demanded, crossing her arms and huffing in frustration.

"It isn't that simple. I didn't want to tell you, because telling you would mean that you could be put in danger too. I didn't want to get you mixed up in my problem. I thought maybe if I kept my distance from you, I could also keep you safe, but you were just too darn stubborn," he chuckled, giving her a half smile.

"Why are you telling me now then?"

"Because of Team Rocket. That's who Mr. A was talking about. They want what I know, and they'll go through you to get to me. I was foolish to think that keeping you in the dark would keep you safe. I thought I could keep our identity a secret, but I think the cats out of the bad." Red held up the two sheets of pieces of them that he had stolen from Team Rocket.

Leaf grabbed the sheet with her face on it, examined it, and then shoved it in Red's face.

"Is my nose really this big?!" She demanded, her eyes wide in horror.

Red rolled his eyes in annoyance, but he couldn't help but laugh. Leaf acting like her goofy old self made Red feel so much more at ease. He wondered if she did so on purpose, to try and lighten the mood. Either way, telling her had made him feel as though a snorlax had been lifted off his chest.

"No Leaf, your nose is just perfect," Red assured her.

"Thank goodness. That's a relief," She sighed.

Red studied Leaf for a moment before a look of fear crossed over his face. His eyes searched the ground, his body slightly shaking, and then he braced himself.

"Leaf, I would understand if you wanted to leave me and journey on your own. I've put you in a lot of danger and I'm really sorry about that."

"Red… I would never abandon you." She stared at him seriously, her hands clenching into fists. Red looked up at Leaf in surprise, moved by her loyalty to him. He gave her a big grin, and suddenly it was his turn to envelope her in a bone crushing hug.

"You're the best Leaf!" He announced, letting go of her.

Leaf stumbled backwards, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she felt the lingering memory of his arms around her. Red was smiling broadly, his face practically glowing from relief and happiness. Leaf couldn't remember a single time that Red had actually hugged Leaf like that, or anybody for that matter. She opened her mouth to reply, but the words seemed to die on her tongue, unable to form a plausible response at the thought of his big brown eyes staring into hers. Leaf hated it when she got like this. She finally got a hold of herself, and managed to form a coherent response.

"You're my best friend and you're problems are my problems. We'll get through this and if I have to, I'll destroy every single Team Rocket goon out there," Leaf declared fist pumping the air.

Her eyes shifted over to Red and a mischievous look came into her eyes as she touched her pointer fingers together. She gave him a half cocked smile that Red had grown to know well.

"So, uh, what is the very important information that Mr. A told you?"

"Leaf!" Red exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

"What?!" Leaf held her hands up in front of herself protectively, her eyes widening.

"I can't tell you! Telling you would be just as bad as putting a huge target on your back. This is my burden to bare, and I'm not going to risk your life anymore then necessary," Red retorted, crossing his arms firmly in front of him.

"Oh, alright," Leaf grumbled.

"How about we go take a walk around the city? I feel like we haven't hung out, just the two of us, for a while," Red suggested.

"I would love nothing more," Leaf agreed, smiling broadly at her friend.

* * *

Red casually walked through the room full of people towards the front desk, Pikachu happily sitting atop his head. Leaf walked by his side, captivated by the battle raging on the t.v. Red approached the desk, and after checking in they decided to head towards the arena and watch the rest of the battle. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Leaf's shoulder, spinning her around the face the man. She stared in shock as she recognized Gray's smiling face staring back into her's.

"My rose! It is such a pleasure to see you here," He swiftly snatched her hand and gently kissed it.

"Uh, hey Gray," Leaf choked out, her face a mask of disgust.

When he finally let go of her, Leaf snatched her hand back and wiped it on her pants. Gray didn't seem to notice though and continued to admire her like she was a diamond. Red scoffed at Gray, wondering how much of an idiot this guy really was.

"I do not suppose you have heard the news yet have you?" He asked, stepping in closer to Leaf's side.

"Um, no," She muttered, tensing up awkwardly next to him.

"You're my next opponent," He replied, winking at her.

"Really?" Leaf asked, perking up and momentarily forgetting his forceful advances.

"Yes, my rose, but do not think I will go easy on you. Not only will I win the battle, but I shall also win your heart in this epic battle. I shall not lose to the likes of him, a lower class peasant!" Gray announced as he jabbed his finger towards Red's chest.

"You really are a nut case," Red sighed.

"Your words do not bother me. I only have ears for the words spoken by beautiful women, like my rose." Gray replied dramatically.

"Uh, okay." Red scratched the back of his head.

"Farewell my beautiful rose. I shall win the battle." He declared before proudly marching away from them.

Red watched him walk away, thinking that this guy just got weirder everyday. Leaf was standing next to him with her arms folded firmly across her chest and a scowl on her lips. He glanced at her curiously as the intensity in her eyes began to grow.

"I won't lose to him! I can't imagine all the crap that guy will spew at me about love if he manages to win," She turned to Red and grabbed his shirt, pulling him close to her, "We will not let him win, you hear me?!"

"Yeah, yeah! Loud and clear Leaf." He held up his hands and laughed nervously.

"Good, we better come up with some unbeatable strategy then." She let him go and approached an empty coffee table. Red sat in the seat next to Leaf as she began to jumble on about possible battle plans, and what were some good combinations. Red silently let out a sigh of relief. Right now, all he had to worry about was winning his next match and he couldn't possibly ask for anything more.

**Yay! I made it to 20 chapters! I hope you guys enjoyed the Burning Leaf scenes in this chapter, I personally enjoyed writing them. Please leave a review telling me what you thought of this chapter and any way I could make it better. Thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Hurry up Leaf. We're going to be late."

Leaf ran after Red, Oddish clutched tightly against her chest. Leaf had been training hard with the pokemon when Red rushed into the training grounds. He'd said that the match was about to start and if they didn't get there soon, they'd be late. Leaf could see the large stadium where the tournament was being held up ahead. Red was running really fast and Leaf was starting to get tired.

"Are we going to make it?" She huffed as they neared the doors.

"Yeah, we might miss the beginning of it though."

"Wha-miss the beginning? How could they start without us? You kind of need us there to start!"

"It's not our battle we'll be missing, Leaf. It's Blue's."

Leaf groaned as they finally reached the doors, upset that Red had made such a fuss about someone else's battle. While she did want to see it, she wasn't sure it was worth all that running. Leaf tapped her foot impatiently while Red checked them in. They rushed into the crowd and quickly found some seats. On Blue and Yellow's side, a wartortle and larvitar stood facing a lone pokemon that Leaf recognized as a Breloom. As Leaf took a closer look at their opponents, she realized Yellow and Blue were batting Shannon and Kyle. This was probably a really interesting battle. Even though it was two against one, Breloom had the type advantage and the battle could easily go either way. Breloom shot forward with astounding speed and slammed its glowing fist into Larvitar's gut. The pokemon's eyes bulged in pain as it was sent flying into the wall behind it. Leaf's eyes were the size of donuts as she watched the battle, amazed by Breloom's obvious strength. Larvitar fell from the large indent it left in the wall and landed roughly. To her surprise, the larvitar turned out to be Blue's, which meant the wartortle was Yellow's. Leaf could picture Blue swearing up a storm as he returned Larvitar. He didn't send out another pokemon, which meant that this was the ending of the battle. Despite the odds being stacked against him, Yellow couldn't have looked more at ease. A causal, almost smug, smile was tugging at the corners of his lips as he commanded his pokemon.

"Hydro, use water gun!"

Hyrdo, the wartortle, fired a water gun attack on the ground, covering the battle field with a thin layer of water. Before the earth absorbed the liquid, Hydro fired a light blue beam at the water, instantaneously turning it to ice. _So Hydro can use ice beam too_, Leaf thought. Hydro glided gracefully across the ice, while Breloom struggled to even keep its balance. Hydro lowered its head and bulldozed Breloom with a tackle attack. Breloom skidded across the ice and barely managed to stand back up without slipping on the ice. Kyle shouted something and Breloom responded by shattering the ice with a mach punch. Breloom sprang towards Hydro with its head lowered for a headbutt attack. Hydro ducked into its shell at the last possible second and Breloom passed over the top of it. He reemerged as second later and fired a direct ice beam attack at Breloom. Breloom crashed into the ground, and when the dust cleared it was laying unconscious. The crowd exploded in applause so loud the whole stadium shook while Leaf watched with her mouth hanging wide open. This guy, Yellow, was no joke. His eyes gleamed as he shook Shannon and Kyle's hands. Leaf looked back over at Red, feeling a pit of nervousness forming in her stomach. He gave her a reassuring smile that she desperately needed and said, "Don't worry Leaf, we'll do fine."

She nodded back at him as she rose from their seats. They found Yellow and Blue standing out in the waiting area near the healing center. Yellow's blue eyes lit up when he spotted Leaf approaching them. He waved at her before grinning broadly from ear to ear.

"Hey Leaf! Hey Red!"

Leaf smiled back at him, acknowledging that he seemed to have gotten over the weirdness of Red being his doppleganger. Blue had that familiar I'm-better-than-you smirk written all over his face as they approached.

"That was a really impressive battle." Leaf directed the comment more at Yellow than Blue.

"Yeah, well we are pretty good. A lot better than you could ever hope to be," Blue snarked back at Leaf.

Leaf groaned, narrowing her eyes at him. Why did he always have to turn her compliments into insults?

"Don't mind him. He's just mad that I was the one who finished the battle," Yellow replied nonchalantly, "When is your next battle? That's something I want to watch."

Leaf watched as Blue muttered something under his breath before slinking away from them. To Leaf's surprise, Red answered for them.

"We are after the next battle, so pretty soon."

"Alright. Say, if you have time after your battle, I have something fun we could do." His eyes flickered mischievously.

"What?" Leaf asked excitedly. Red rolled his eyes, refusing to play into Yellow's hands.

He just shrugged nonchalantly before waving goodbye. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Leaf wondered curiously what Yellow had been talking about. It must be something pretty cool since he was suggesting it. Leaf absentmindedly followed Red as she daydreamed about Yellow. He may look just like him, but Leaf had a feeling that Red and Yellow were nothing alike. As she handed in her pokeballs, she suddenly remembered the huge battle waiting for them behind the double doors. She gulped nervously and glanced over at Red for reassurance.

Red looked over at her and, as though he could read her thoughts, gave her an encouraging nod with the faintest trace of a grin. Leaf, without looking over at him, held out her fist to him. Without a moment's hesitation, he fist bumped her back. This was why they were best friends.

The doors were flung open before them and Leaf found herself shaking hands with Gray before she knew it. He smiled at her broadly and then they returned to their sides. One of the first things she noticed was that there was a large body of water on the field, meaning that one of them must be using a water type. Leaf kept that in mind as she released her first pokemon, Beedrill. Pidgeotto fluttered in the air next to Beedrill, giving him an acknowledging nod. Standing in front of Gray was small fox like pokemon known as eevee and next to it was a poliwhirl.

"Here we go Beauty." Gray nodded to his pokemon, suddenly all business.

Leaf couldn't help but scoff at his choice of nicknames. Not only was he vain, but he was also encouraging his pokemon to be vain. Leaf began to feel slightly uneasy at his sudden change of attitude. She had never seen him like this, with determined flames blazing in his eyes.

"Start us off with toxic spikes." Beedrill brought its drills together and began to form a large purple sphere. It released the sphere into the air once it was done, and it exploded into the air, showering the field with smaller toxic, purple orbs. They sunk into the ground, though nothing happened to opposing pokemon. The spikes would only take effect when they switched out their pokemon.

"Poliwhirl, use hypnosis!" Poliwhirl's trainer, a young female trainer with long fiery hair, called out.

Poliwhirl's eyes locked with Beedrill's before pulsing deep red. Beedrill wavered in the air, its wings beating slower, until it finally crashed onto the ground, totally out of it. Beauty shot forward, aiming to tackle Beedrill. Luckily, Pidgeotto responded by negating the attack with a gust. Leaf bit her lips as she mulled over her options now. Beedrill was out of it, though she had no idea for how long. She could switch him out for another pokemon, but evasion would be a lot harder then. They would also know what other pokemon she had and could come up with a strategy to take out Beedrill once she put him back in anyways. If she didn't switch him out, then she ran the risk of him being knocked-out. It seemed that Red made up her mind for her by commanding Pidgeotto to take a defensive stance over Beedrill.

"Hypnosis one more time!" The girl instructed.

"Sand-attack!"

The poliwhirl's eyes glowed red, but before the attack had a chance to effect them, Pidgeotto had kicked up a cloud of sand. Pidgeotto followed up with a fierce gust attack, clearing up the dust and putting the other two pokemon on the defensive. Only, there weren't two pokemon. Beauty pounced on Pidgeotto from the side, sinking its sharp teeth into his wing. Pidgeotto cried out in pain as it was brought to the ground. The bird pokemon turned angrily and drove its beak into the eevee's back. Beauty retreated just as a strong jet of water crashed into Pidgeotto. Just as things were beginning to look particularly bleak, Beedrill woke up.

"Thanks Red, but I can take over from here."

Beedrill hovered over the ground, before flying forward. It aimed a powerfully twin needle attack at Beauty, but the small pokemon nimbly dodged the attack. He swooped back around, ready to attack again when commanded to.

"Pidgeotto use Featherdance!"

Pidgeotto's wings glowed white and white feathers began to materialize around him. He brought his wings together forcefully, turning all the feathers like daggers and sending them hurtling at Beauty. They hit Beauty, but did no visible damage. Poliwhirl aimed another water gun attack at Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto dodged it swiftly.

"Fury attack!"

Beedrill charged once more, but this time as Beauty attempted to move out of the way, it seemed sluggish and tired. Beedrill jabbed its pincers at Beauty, who cried out in pain, as it stood weakly on its four legs. A powerful gust of wind blindsided the small pokemon, sending it tumbling backwards and into unconsciousness. Gray returned his pokemon and next sent out a raichu.

Leaf regarded the raichu curiously. She had never seen a raichu in person, but she'd seen plenty of pictures and videos of them battling. The pokemon looked like a bigger, more vicious version of pikachu, which was essentially what it was. Leaf had seen Pikachu fight though, and if this pokemon was anything like Pikachu, it was going to be a long battle. Luckily, the second Raichu stepped onto the field, its body glowed a dark purple, courtesy of toxic spikes.

"Raijin, finish off the pidgeotto with thunderbolt." Gray said evenly, his eyes narrowed.

Raijin's cheeks sparked with electricity dangerously before releasing a thunderbolt. Electricity coursed through Pidgeotto, bringing the bird pokemon crashing to the ground. Red showed no emotion as he returned Pidgeotto and sent out Ivysaur. Just when it looked like they might have gained the upperhand, things had been leveled out again. Ivysaur had a resistance to electricity though, and it was effective against water types.

"Ivysaur, use leech seed." Red instructed.

Red was trying to stall the battle, and given the fact that Raijin was already poisoned, that was a smart strategy. A leech seed combined with a poisoned status effect would quickly drain away Raijin's health points and completely eliminate all of Gray's pokemon. It would have worked well, if the raichu hadn't dodged the attack with such ease. It was obviously strong, but adding in the fact that it was also fast made it deadly.

"Poliwhirl, use double slap."

Poliwhirl charged forward, aiming to slap Ivysaur, which was a big mistake. The pokemon wasn't fast enough to dodge the long vines that had emerged from Ivysaur's bulb and was completely vulnerable to the barrage of razor leaves that Ivysaur sent at it. The female trainer returned her pokemon unhappily and next sent out a seal like pokemon known as sealeo, marking her as a trainer that specialized in water types. It also pulsed purple the moment it touched the field, or water in its case.

"Sealeo, use powder snow!"

Sealeo turned towards Beedrill and opened its mouth, a strong blizzard materializing. The snow and winds pounded on Beedrill, driving it back into the wall. Raijin aimed another thunderbolt attack at him, but Beedrill managed to get out of the way just in time. Leaf could see that he was pretty beaten up and wouldn't last much longer. She raised his pokeball, a small smile on her lips.

"You did well. You deserve a break now." He disappeared in a flash of red light.

Rattata emerged moments later, the small pokemon eagerly gnashing its teeth together. Sealeo turned its attention over to Rattata, and aimed another powder snow attack. Rattata was able to evade the attack and the thunderbolt that was aimed at it. With its attention diverted, Ivysaur took the opportunity to attack Raijin with a razor leaf attack. The leaves collided with the electric mouse pokemon, who gave an indignant cry before pulsing purple again.

Leaf knew that Rattata was at an obvious disadvantage here since all of his moves involved some type of contact. Sealeo could easily dodged any attack that Rattata threw at it by swimming away and attacking a raichu ran the risk of becoming paralyzed. It was only a matter of time before they would gang up on Ivysaur, who was the more obvious threat. It looked like her only option was to take on Raijin.

"Focus Energy and then Quick attack on Raijin."

Rattata closed its eyes, a surge of energy visible around him as he concentrated. His eyes snapped open and he shot towards Raijin.

"Double team."

Suddenly the field was full of raichu. Rattata chose one at random, who dissipated the moment he made contact with it. In unison, the raichu clones all released a powerful thunderbolt attack. Just before he was struck, strong vines wrapped around Rattata and yanked him out of the way. Rattata gave an appreciative nod to Ivysaur as he set him back down on the ground.

"Red, you take the Sealeo and I'll deal with the raichu." Leaf looked over at Red, who nodded in agreement.

Vines whipped out at Sealeo, striking the pokemon across the face. It retreated into the water, eyeing Ivysaur cautiously. Rattata had been put on the defense, avoiding thunderbolt after thunderbolt along with the occasional quick attack. Finally, he managed to sink his teeth into Raijin with a crunch attack, only to be violently electrocuted. Rattata let go weakly and was flung across the field with a quick attack. Rattata slowly rose to his feet, covered in bruises and panting heavily. Raijin grinned happily before grimacing as it once more pulsed purple. It was obviously feeling the effects of the poison and Leaf knew it wouldn't be able to last much longer.

Ivysaur suffered a blow from a ice ball attack. It was about to prepare another attack when it pulsed purple, the ball it was forming dissolving into tiny shards of ice. Ivysaur took the opening and struck Sealeo with a leech seed attack. Ivysaur retreated, growing stronger as he sapped what little strength Sealeo had left. Sealeo used powder snow one more time, which Ivysaur barely dodged, before passing out. Gray's partner moaned unhappily as she returned her pokemon.

Gray's eyes narrowed, not ready to lose quite yet. Raijin seemed to sense its trainers determination and found newfound strength.

"Double team quick attack!"

Copies of Raijin shimmered into existence as it charged forward. Rattata wasn't able to dodge in time as was flung up against the wall. The small pokemon crumpled to the ground unconscious. Leaf smiled proudly as she switched out her pokemon for Beedrill.

"Ivysaur, grab onto Raijin with your vines," Red instructed, glancing towards Leaf.

"Twin needle!"

Ivysaur's vine wrapped around Raijin, holding it still. Raijin struggled for a moment before letting loose a strong thunderbolt attack that traveled up the vines to Ivysaur. Ivysaur gritted his teeth, but managed to hold Raijin still. Beedrill dove towards Raijin. It's drills connected with Raijin, finally knocking the pokemon out and ending the battle.

Leaf let out a sigh of relief as cheers filled the arena. She smiled sheepishly at the crowd. There was always a thrill that came with winning, especially when you had just proven yourself to a rival.

"You were excellent, my rose. You deserve the win." Gray shook her hand, giving her an acknowledging nod.

Leaf practically beamed at his words, "Thanks, you were pretty good too." After their battle she had a new found respect for Gray, even if he did slightly creep her out.

Outside the field, Yellow was casually standing near the healing center. His brightened when he caught sight of them and gave them a small wave. Leaf practically skipped over to him, so pumped full of energy that she could hardly contain herself.

"That was actually pretty impressive," He complimented them as they handed in their pokemon to be healed.

"Thanks! Me and Red worked pretty hard on that." Leaf explained energetically.

Red rolled his eyes as he watched them. It was as though Leaf was totally oblivious that every single boy she talked to was practically drooling at the mouth for her. Gray was definitely the worst, but it was pretty obvious that Yellow had a thing for her too, especially after he whisked her away at the dance. Great, now he had to not only protect her from team rocket, but also from thirsty boys. Of course, he could never tell Leaf that; she would practically beat him to death.

"So… what was that one thing you were telling us about?" Leaf pestered after they had retrieved their pokemon, her eyes shinning excitedly.

"Oh yeah, that," He paused for dramatic flare before continuing, "You'll have to follow me to find out. It's not a long walk and we'll be back way before your next battle."

Red hesitated, but followed Leaf as she chattered happily alongside Yellow. Yellow led them out away from the city and towards the ocean. Before long, they came upon an open beach overflowing with wild pokemon and giant sand dunes. The pokemon didn't seem at all bothered by the people walking into their home, in fact, they seemed quite excited.

"Wow! Look at all the pokemon!" Leaf exclaimed.

"I was going to bring Blue here, but I figured he'd go all capture-happy and try to catch the pokemon. They aren't even the best part though," He boasted.

"Really? What is then?" Leaf was leaning into his every word, excitement practically shooting off her.

Yellow ran off behind a dune and appeared a moment later carrying three saucer style sleds. Leaf rushed over to Yellow and yanked the saucer from his hands. Before Red had even grabbed a saucer, Leaf was at the top of the dune.

"Here I come!" She cried out before jumping down the dune.

She flew down the dune and at first Red thought she might actually be pretty good at this thing. Then she hit a bump. Leaf somersaulted over the front of the slide, rolling all the way to the bottom of the hill while her sled followed her down. She slowly pushed herself up, spitting out mouthfuls of sand.

"I've never seen anyone do that!" Yellow laughed. Leaf glared at him for a moment, but couldn't help laughing along with him. She even managed to get a chuckle out of Red. While Leaf worked furiously to get all the sand off her, Yellow and Red climbed to the top of the sand dunes. A wild poliwag had hopped up the sand dunes next to Red. Red watched the pokemon curiously as it teetered on the edge of the dune, as though it was waiting for some signal.

"It wants to race you," Yellow explained smiling.

"Oh." Red nodded at the poliwag. It chirped happily in response. He sat down on the sled, muscles tensed and ready to go. In unison, they both shoved off from the sand dunes. Red flew down the dune, sand spray in his face. He was in front of the poliwag, but the pokemon was rapidly gaining on him. It had obviously done this a lot more than he had. At the last second, the poliwag pulled in front of him for the win. It happily celebrated its victory before skipping back up the dune for another go.

Yellow came to a halt at the bottom of the dune laughing. He grabbed his sled and followed Red. Leaf was perched at the top once more, ready to give it another go. She took a deep breath and then pushed off. She rocketed down, before, once again, flipping over the front of her sled. She glared ruefully at her sled while she rubbed the sand from her tongue.

"I will conquer you!" She declared jabbing her finger at the dune.

Leaf continued to sled down the hill, falling or flipping off somehow more than not. The wild pokemon had started giving her tips on how to keep on the sled, which Leaf eagerly accepted. The hours flew by, and soon enough it was time to head back to the stadium. Leaf had successfully figured out how to sled without flipping over the front, though she was by no means an expert. They waved goodbye to their new pokemon friends as they left.

"That was so fun Yellow! We have to go do it again sometime!" Leaf exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

"Unfortunately, after I win the tournament," He smirked at them playfully, "I'll be heading onto the next city. I'm sure we'll meet again though, and when we do, I'll have something even cooler for us to do."

"You already beat Lt. Surge then?" Leaf asked, her cheerful attitude quickly turning into a gloomy one.

"Mmmhmmm." He put his hands behind his neck as we walked.

"What was he like?" Red spoke up, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Leaf had forgotten that Red didn't know much about Lt. Surge, not that she was an expert on him. Gray had given her a few pointers on their… outing. She had been thinking about the gym a lot lately, trying to come up with a winning strategy. Odds were he would use three pokemon, so Leaf had to have a balanced team of three to counter them. He fought with electric types, which put Psyduck at a disadvantage, and since the odds were high that some of his pokemon had the ability static, it wouldn't be wise to use Rattata. That left her with Charmeleon (who she was already planning on using) Beedrill, and Oddish.

Oddish had improved a lot since Leaf had first caught her back by Cerulean, but she was nervous about how the pokemon would handle its first gym battle. She'd used Oddish a couple times against trainers they had fought on the way to Vermilion, but other than that, the pokemon had little experience. Maybe Yellow would have some helpful insight.

Yellow seemed pleased that Red was talking to him. "He was no push-over, that's for sure. He specializes in electric type pokemon and just loves to paralyze the opposing pokemon. Surge is a bit extreme and prefers power over speed or a strong defense. That's how I was able to beat him. I used a solid defense and speed to over think him and take him down."

"Hmm." Red digested the information thoughtfully. Leaf could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to devise a strategy. If Red was going to take down Lt. Surge, then there was no way that Leaf was going to lose either.

**Woo finally got another chapter up! I know I'm taking long to update, but I promise that I have not given up on this story! If you enjoyed this chapter or want to let me know how you feel, feel free to leave a review. Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

A torrent of searing flames consumed the opposing Roselia, knocking the pokemon out. Leaf beamed happily at her Charmeleon as their opponent returned their last pokemon. Their names being announced was background noise while they shook their opponents hands. Leaf was practically skipping as she exited the battle field, Red following closely behind her with much more dignity. His hands were in his pockets, giving him a nonchalant look and not at all indicating that he had just won a very important battle. Leaf was jumping around as she rambled on excitedly about the battle, pointing out exciting parts to relive with Red.

"Hey, Yellow!" Leaf cheerfully waved as she spotted him.

"Hey, you two. Looks like we'll be battling in the championship. We should go out to eat to celebrate," he suggested, Blue rolling his eyes from behind Yellow.

"Oh, good idea! Don't think we'll take it easy on you even for a second though!"

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

The four of them ended up walking around Vermillion City for a while before they settled on a restaurant. It was an Italian place that looked relatively cheap and nice. They were seated at a booth with dim lighting. Leaf slide in next to Red, happily grabbing the menu. Leaf chattered casually while they examined the menus. Yellow easily kept conversation with her, even Blue would butt in occasionally with a comment, but Red kept quiet most of the time. No matter how nice Yellow seemed, Red just couldn't bring himself to trust him. He was struggling to let anybody in close, because if they ended up being connected to Team Rocket…

"Here's your food!" Their waiter happily announced as she handed them each their food.

Everyone else happily dug into their food, but Red just picked at it absentmindedly. Pikachu ended up crawling onto his lap and using an extra fork to help himself to some of the food Red wasn't eating. Leaf was rapidly consuming her food, obviously not too concerned with how she ate in front of any of the boys. She would occasionally get sauce on her face, but she would quickly wipe it away with a giggle. After a while, Red couldn't help but find himself enjoying their outing with all the easy talk and playful banter.

"There is a pretty cool pokemon park not far from here," Yellow suggested, as they paid for their meal.

"Sound like fun!" Leaf agreed, following him out the door.

The park was practically as they arrived. It was rather impressive, with large twisting slides, complicated climbing equipment and loads of swings. Leaf eagerly released all of her pokemon. They took one look at the equipment before scampering off to investigate. They rest of them followed suit until the playground was overrun with playful pokemon. Red couldn't help but notice that Yellow only released 4 of his pokemon, even though he had two more pokeballs on his belt. Their pikachus rushed over to investigate each other before running off to play. Ivysaur was pushing Oddish dangerously high in the baby swing while Beedrill caught her at the top and pushed her back down. It looked like most of the other pokemon had started their own game of tag with poor psyduck being it. The pokemon clutched her head and looked around as all the other pokemon fled from her. Red smiled at the scene, happy that his pokemon could take a well deserved break.

Leaf was standing next to Blue, angrily trying to explain her point with exaggerated hand signs. Blue had his chin turned up and an arrogant look on his face. She gestured to Charmeleon, who nodded in agreement. Blue motioned to his own fire type pokemon, Growlithe, who let out a sharp bark. A second later, they both unleashed flamethrowers attacks in the air. The blindingly bright light of the flames left imprints on Red's retinas as he watched the flames grow higher and stronger.

"Ya know, they fight a lot, but I think that they are more like siblings than anything else," Yellow remarked casually.

Red whirled around to look at Yellow. Being distracted by their contest of power, he hadn't even noticed Yellow walk over to him. Yellow wasn't looking at Red as he spoke, but was instead focused on the two as well, "I think under all that tough exterior and boasting that Blue really cares about Leaf. He acts like she is just some push-over, but he talks about her all the time as though she is really his biggest rival. Leaf pretends that she hates his guts, but Leaf couldn't hate anybody, much less her greatest rival."

Red glanced at Yellow curiously, soaking in his words. He returned his attention to Leaf and Blue, who were now racing their pokemon. He hadn't given it much thought before, but what Yellow said was probably actually spot on. Leaf did talk about Blue a lot, even though it wasn't really ever fondly. She strived to be as strong as him, to surpass him. It made her a better trainer to have a rival, and it made Blue a better trainer as well. It was pretty hard to hate someone that did so much good for you, even if they could be a jerk. While it was Red's dream to become the champion, to conquer pokemon, what was really driving him was the desire to protect those he cared about from Team Rocket. To fulfill the destiny that had been thrust upon him. It was pretty insightful for Yellow to spot that such a short time after meeting them.

"She really cares about you Red. I can see it in the way she looks at you. She wants your recognition more than anything else. Blue pushes her to be a better trainer, but you push her to be a better person. I admire you for that Red. You two are really good for each other. You're a pretty good guy. All three of you are the type of good trainers that are hard to come by these days. I'm lucky that I got the chance to meet you." Yellow said it so sincerely that Red was at a loss for words.

Red turned towards Yellow now, giving him his full attention. Yellow meet his gaze with his light blue eyes. They held their gaze for a moment, an unspoken connection forming between them. Red may have had suspicions about Yellow before, but they all but flew out the window after that. Well, almost. Red would probably always be a little more cautious than necessary around him, but it couldn't be helped.

"Thanks Yellow. You're a good guy too." Red nodded at him. Yellow grinned from ear to ear, obviously pleased with the praise. Leaf and Blue were walking towards them now, both of them dirty and covered with scratches. Red glanced between them questioningly. Leaf laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

"I,uh, guess we got kinda carried away," she chuckled. Blue rolled his eyes, but Red didn't miss the slight smile on his face.

"We should probably get going. Our pokemon need their rest," Red suggested as he enlarged his pokeballs. Leaf sighed and nodded in agreement before returning her own pokemon. They said their goodbyes and then parted ways. Red wondered where they were staying since they obviously weren't at the pokemon center, but didn't care enough to ask. Leaf whistled as she skipped down the sidewalk. Sometimes Leaf could act like such a child, but it was one of the things Red loved best about her.

She suddenly stopped skipping and turned back to look at him. Her lips were pursed and her brow furrowed.

"Ya know, we haven't seen," she glanced around before lowering her voice to a whisper, "Team Rocket for a while."

Red's stomach lurched at the words. He glanced over at Leaf, who was studying the sidewalk intently now. She was right. Not seeing Team Rocket for such a long time stressed Red out more than if they were to have encountered them a couple of times. He had no idea what they were planning, or if they knew where they were. Red hated more than anything to be on the run and at their mercy. How long would this last? If Red ever wanted to be free of this burden, to not have to look over his shoulder everywhere he walked, then he only had one option. He would have to somehow take out Team Rocket. Completely.

"Yeah, I know," he agreed.

Pikachu shifted on his shoulder, almost as though he could tell what Red was thinking. How long would it take for him to reach that kind of strength? Since he was fairly certain that Team Rocket had infiltrated the police, his chances of getting real help were slim. He didn't even know how many people actually knew about the organization. Before he met Mr. A., he hadn't even known they existed. He didn't know how large they were, what their ultimate goal was, how old they were, or any other basic information. The group was pretty much a mystery to him. If he wanted to stand a shot at facing them, that was something he would have to find out. He could reason out somethings, like they must be well established with a decent amount of people if they could infiltrate the police, from previous knowledge. There were still a lot of unanswered questions regarding them though.

"What are we going to do about them? We can't just keep running forever you know. Maybe we should tell somebody that they are after you. You don't have to tell them the secret or anything, just that we interfered with something and now they are trying to take us out. Just so people are aware of the threat, and they could help protect us too," Leaf suggested quietly, her eyes staying on the sidewalk.

Had their roles been reversed, Red would have said the exact same thing to her. He would have demanded she seek protection. It was a good thing their roles hadn't been reserved though. Leaf believed in Red in way that was almost idolistic. She completely and wholly trusted him, and only wanted what was best for his. Red, of course, cared very deeply for Leaf as well, but he didn't believe in her quite the same way. Leaf had grown a lot in the months they had been trainers, but even so, he couldn't risk her getting hurt. He didn't have enough faith in her to intentionally put her in dangers way and just hope for the best. Red didn't care if it was wrong, just as long as she was safe.

"We can't tell anyone," he answered simply.

"Why not?" She demanded, her eyes meeting his.

"We can't trust anyone. Anyone could be apart of Team Rocket. They work in the shadows, so the best way to keep out of trouble is to keep a relatively low profile."

"But we are not keeping a low profile by entering in the pokemon tournament, there are hundreds of people watching us," she pointed out stubbornly.

Maybe, they shouldn't have entered in the pokemon tournament, but Red couldn't live his life in the shadows, hiding behind every corner. It might be risky, but he felt like it was a relatively safe thing to do. The tournament wasn't big enough to be televised, and there were probably only close to 200 people there. Besides, how were they ever going to get better if they didn't battle the best around?

"I know, just trust me about this one, okay?"

Leaf harrumphed but didn't argue. "I worry about you too, ya know?"

"I know Leaf. Thanks for caring." He playfully rubbed her hat into her head. Leaf giggled as she pushed Red away from her, the blush on her cheeks barely visible in the dim street light.

* * *

This was it. Their last battle. Red hadn't felt nervous for any of the other battles, but now his stomach was queasy and protested every step he took. Leaf and him had rehearsed their plan at least a hundred times, but he still felt like everything was going to fall apart. Both of them had been working hard with their pokemon and taught them a couple of new moves over the last few days. They'd even created some pretty cool combo techniques. Leaf was giving herself a pep talk next to him, which really didn't help calm his nerves. There were a lot of people bustling around the stadium, chattering amongst themselves nonchalantly. Now that Leaf had pointed it out, Red was on high alert for any suspicious characters. He was beginning to wonder if entering into this competition was a mistake, but it was too late to do anything about it now. Team Rocket wouldn't be able to take them out in the open like this either, right?

Hands suddenly clamped down on Red's shoulders, making him practically jump out of his shoes. He whirled around, his fingers hovering over his pokeballs. Leaf excitedly skipped over to Red when she saw who it was, all of her worries apparently forgotten. Shannon was grinning from ear to ear at them. Kyle stood behind her with his hands in his pockets and a small smug grin on his face.

"Hey guys! We just wanted to tell you good luck. We'll be cheering for you!" Shannon winked at them. Kyle nodded, glancing between Red and Leaf. Leaf gave Shannon a big thumbs up and an even bigger smile.

"Don't you worry. We are gonna give it our all," she reassured them.

"You better!" She gave Leaf a thumbs up back.

"Don't mess up." Kyle teased, playfully flicking the rim of her hat down. Leaf giggled as she readjusted her hat and they walked away. Red huffed, but refrained from saying anything about it.

Red glanced towards the clock. "We should go sign in."

"Right." Leaf nodded, looking very determined.

They waited anxiously as they checked themselves and their pokemon in. Each second that ticked by seemed to be moving a 100 miles per hour and crawling along at the same time. Leaf had started pacing the room while she bite her thumb nail. Red's eyes followed her lazily, his mind wandering. Finally, they were motioned to enter the arena.

Yellow watched them enter with his usual carefree confidence. Blue was grinning at them as they walked to the center to shake hands.

"I'm gonna take you down," Blue muttered.

"Bring it," Leaf growled back in reply.

Blue and Yellow released their first pokemon: Larvitar and a Charmeleon. It shouldn't have surprised Red that he had a charmeleon when he also had a wartortle and an ivysaur, but it somehow still did. Red sent out Pidgeotto while Leaf sent out Beedrill. Since poisoning the opponent's pokemon had worked so well last time, Red didn't see why couldn't try it again.

"Beedrill use toxic spikes!" Leaf commanded.

"Stop them with flamethrower Blaze!" Yellow called out in reply.

Just as Beedrill began to form the toxic purple ball between his drills, he was doused in a merciless storm of flames. Beedrill called out in pain as it struggled to escape them in vain. Leaf watched in horror as her pokemon collapsed to the ground, KO'd. Shakily, Leaf returned her pokemon to her pokeball. This was, well, really bad.

"Shake it off Leaf, keep going," Red encouraged her.

She nodded, and reached for her next pokeball.

"Don't let me down Psyduck!" The small duck pokemon appeared in a flash of light, clutching his tilted head and looking slightly confused. Despite his small size, Psyduck was probably Leaf's second strongest pokemon. Blaze turned towards Pidgeotto and aimed another flamethrower at him. With a strong flap of his wings, Pidgeotto cancelled out the attack with a gust attack, sending a shower of flames across the field.

Psyduck's watergun cut through the flames eating at the grass and hit Larvitar. Psyduck charged through after her attack, showing no mercy, and attacked with a barrage of fury swipes attack. Larvitar managed to block or dodge a majority of the attack.

"Rock slide."

Larvitar jumped high into the air and swiftly brought both hands down. Several large rocks materialized and plummeted towards Psyduck. Psyduck dodged the first two, but was hit by the third rock. Before Psyduck had another chance to attack, Blaze was on him, swiping his claws left and right. Psyduck could barely dodge the attacks in time. Pidgeotto swooped in to the rescue, slamming into Blaze. Blaze recovered quickly and dodged Pidgeotto's second attack. Leaf glanced over a Red, who confirmed her thought with a nod.

"Pidgeotto use aerial ace!" Red commanded.

"Psyduck, water gun on Pidgeotto."

Pidgeotto soared up high into the air before nose diving towards Larvitar. As Pidgeotto gained speed, white streaks swirled around him. Psyduck topped it off by adding a powerful water gun to the combo attack. Pidgeotto crashed into Larvitar, sending it flying into the wall. Larvitar struggled to return to its feet. It angrily charged forward and tackled Psyduck to the ground. The two pokemon struggled with each other on the ground while Blaze advanced on Pidgeotto.

"Flame burst!" Blaze raised a familiar ball of flames over head and sent it flying at Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto crossed its wings in front of itself to take the brunt of the attack, but embers burst from the ball in all directions.

"Watch out Psyduck!" Leaf called out in warning. Psyduck saw the attack coming, and pushed Larvitar in front of her so that it blocked Psyduck from the attack. Psyduck used Larvitar's shock as an opportunity to finish it with a direct water gun attack. Blue returned his pokemon before sending out a large bird pokemon. The pokemon rose to the air with a powerful flap of its wings. It was obviously Spearow's evolution, which meant that Blue had been doing a lot of training. Leaf had been training a lot too though, and there wasn't any way that she was going down easy.

"Charmeleon use flamethrower!"

"Counter with water gun!"

The two powerful attacks collided in mid-air, sending up a cloud of steam. Fearow sliced through the stream, catching Pidgeotto off guard as it jammed its beak into him. Pidgeotto managed to stay in the air and avoid the next attack. Pidgeotto and Fearow began to rise higher and higher into the air in a deadly dance. Pidegotto jabbed at Spearow, but the powerful bird gracefully dodged the blow and wrapped its talons around his exposed wing. Fearow dove towards the ground, dragging Pidgeotto along with it. Fearow pulled up at the last second while simultaneously releasing Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto slammed into the ground in a cloud of dust.

Pidgeotto lifted his head slowly, and pushed itself up off the ground, covered from head to talon in cuts and bruises. He attempted to push himself up, but collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain.

"You did well Pidgeotto," Red complimented his pokemon.

He opened his mouth to command Pikachu into battle, but then hesitated. His fingers twitched at his side before he reached back and grabbed his pokeball. He tossed it out, and nonchalantly caught the pokeball as it bounced back. The look of surprise on both of his opponent's face was priceless. Ivysaur glanced between the two opposing pokemon, not expressing any of the doubts he was undoubtedly having about the type match ups.

"Take Fearow, Leaf. I'll handle the hot shot over here," Red instructed. Leaf hesitated, but then nodding, trusting that Red knew what he was doing.

"Let's finish this off quick with another flamethrower," Yellow commanded, confidently pointing his finger at Ivysaur. Blaze fired a stream of flames at Ivysaur, but Ivysaur nimbly jumped out of the way. Ivysaur ran around Blaze, shooting razor leaves at the pokemon. Blaze flinched, but the attack did little actual damage. It did serve as a distraction though. While Blaze was trying to shield itself from the barrage of attacks, Ivysaur had released a poison powder attack, careful to keep it aimed away from his teammate.

Blue saw the attack coming and called out to his pokemon, "Fearow, blow away the poison powder with a gust!"

Fearow pulled its wings back in preparation for the attack, but was struck with a water gun attack before it could bring its wings together. Fearow recovered from the attack and angrily dove at Psyduck. Psyduck jumped in surprise, and managed to leap away just before Fearow's beak sliced through the space she had just been occupying. Psyduck reached out and, with surprising speed, slapped Fearow across the face twice. The bird pokemon turned towards Psyduck slowly, its anger boiling into an all-out rage. Psyduck took a nervous step back, noticing just how much Fearow towered over her.

"Blow it away with gust!" Blue instructed.

"Ice beam!" Leaf frantically called.

An ice ball materialized in front of Psyduck's beak, but the duck pokemon was blown away before she could finish the attack. Meanwhile, Ivysaur danced circles around Blaze, lashing out with his vines and whipping the charmeleon any chance he got. Blaze was angrily sending flamethrower after flamethrower at Ivysaur, becoming increasingly frustrated as each one missed. Blaze began to attack again when it pulsed purple.

"Calm down, Blaze. Use a smokescreen to get yourself away and regroup," Yellow commanded.

A cloud of smoke enveloped Blaze and part of the field. Ivysaur backed away from the smoke's range, tensed and ready to jump at the slightest of movements. The seconds dragged by as suspense hung heavy in the air. Blaze leaped from the smoke, swiping its claws down towards Ivysaur. Ivysaur barely had time to block the attack with his vines, leaving him completely exposed. Charmeleon released a torrent of flames on Ivysaur, the attack connecting directly with Ivysaur. Ivysaur stumbled backwards, pushing Charmeleon away with his vines. Blaze surged forward to knock out Ivysaur, but Ivysaur wrapped his vine around Blaze's ankle and thrust him away. The fire pokemon smashed into the wall and its body tumbled to the ground. Yellow smiled at his pokemon warmly before returning it. He cocked his head in the direction of the battle field and Volt lept off his shoulder into the battle.

Red glanced over at Psyduck, who was busy dodging Fearow's blows and retaliating any opportunity she had. Volt could most likely take Psyduck out with a single attack, so he would need to keep Volt away from Psyduck. Ivysaur would also match-up good against the electric type. Yellow must have been thinking the same thing because Volt charged towards Psyduck, electricity dancing over its small body.

"Watch out Leaf," Red warned his teammate.

She nodded, and called out to her pokemon. Psyduck side-stepped the attack, the electricity missing her so closely that it singed the small hairs on her body. Ivysaur rushed into the rescue, holding Fearow back with his vines as the bird pokemon tried to dive bomb Psyduck.

"You take Volt. I'll finish off this Fearow," Leaf confidently commanded Red before turning back to Psyduck, "Ice beam!"

Ivysaur pushed Volt back with a combination of razor leaf and vine whip, leaving Psyduck free to take Fearow. Psyduck formed the familiar ball of ice over her beak and fired. A light blue beam fired at Fearow, narrowly missing. Fearow dipped and dived away from the beam, managing to narrowly avoid the deadly attack. Psyduck stopped, obviously frustrated by its lack of accuracy. Fearow turned sharply and charged at Psyduck with a wing attack. Psyduck began to prepare for another ice beam attack when Leaf called out for her pokemon to wait. Psyduck nervously waited as Fearow honed in on its opponent with frightful speed.

"Fire now!" Leaf yelled.

Psyduck fired the ice beam just before Fearow struck, sending the bird pokemon to the ground. Fearow stayed on the ground as the dust settled. Blue switched out his pokemon without a word and released his final and strongest pokemon, Wartortle. Psyduck was panting heavily and Leaf didn't know if her pokemon could last much longer. Ivysaur and Volt were still exchanging blows, which left the two water type pokemon to duke it out. Wartortle fired a water gun attack as it charged forward. Psyduck cancelled the attack out with its own, but wasn't prepared for the rapid spin attack. Psyduck fell to the ground, but thankfully pushed herself back up. She rushed Wartortle, dodged a bite attack, and landed a quick fury swipes attack. Wartortle unleashed a water gun attack on Psyduck at close range. The water type attack was enough to push Psyduck over the edge. Leaf returned her pokemon and enlarged her next pokemon.

Both Blue and she had one pokemon left, while Red and Yellow each had two left. They seemed to match-up against each other rather well. Leaf could tell that both Yellow and Red were more advanced than her though, even if she could keep up with Blue. The thought of being weaker than Red made her sad, frustrated, and determined all at once. She pushed down her feelings and returned her focus to the battle.

"Let's go Charmeleon." Charmeleon eyed Wartortle confidently. The last time the two of them had faced it had resulted in a loss for Leaf, but both Leaf and her pokemon were determined to change that this time around. It was almost as though her words were a signal for their battle to begin. The pokemon charged towards each other, each firing their own attack. Charmeleon side-stepped the water gun attack while Wartortle jumped into its shell. Wartortle cut through the fire, while safely tucked in its shell, and slammed into Charmeleon. Charmeleon stood his ground and caught the shell. He snickered victoriously before punting it into the air and dousing it with flames. Leaf wasn't sure how much damage it actually did, but it did look pretty cool. Wartortle was resistant to fire type attack though, and it had high defensive stats. Leaf was going to need a way to break through or weaken that defense somehow. The logical option was for Ivysaur to knock Wartortle around with some grass type attack, but both Leaf and Charmeleon wanted this to be their battle. To show that they were the better team. That was selfish though, and if they wanted to win this it would have to be with team work.

"Let's switch." Leaf watched as Charmeleon narrowly dodged a water pulse. Red nodded in agreement. Charmeleon and Ivysaur switched very smoothly, as though they had been doing it forever. Charmeleon used a flamethrower attack to push Volt back before blinding it with a smoke screen. Ivysaur used his vines to keep Wartortle away from Charmeleon and focused on him instead. Wartortle struggled against Ivysaur's persistent attacks, torn between trying to knock Charmeleon out and fighting against the opponent in front of him. Ivysaur made the decision for him though by slamming into the turtle pokemon with a tackle attack.

Charmeleon charged towards Volt, swiping left and right at the electric pokemon. It might have seemed like a bad idea to draw physical contact with Volt, but Leaf knew that Volt probably would be able to counter and dodge Charmeleon's long range attacks much easier than he could. Charmeleon's claws nicked Volt just as an electric attack barely missed his head. Charmeleon lashed out again, and this time struck gold. Volt skidded backwards, just as a spark of electricity jumped across Charmeleon's skin. At first Leaf thought that Volt had snuck in a thunderbolt attack, but then she realized that Charmeleon's movements seemed sluggish.

"How...?" She asked quietly to herself. But the answer was so obvious that Leaf felt like a complete idiot the second the word had left her mouth. Of course it was Volt's ability. Red had a Pikachu too, so Leaf shouldn't have been surprised when a physical attack left Charmeleon paralyzed. She cursed herself for being so ignorant and reckless. Now Red and Charmeleon would both have to pay for her stupidity.

"Thunderbolt!" Yellow commanded.

Volt leaped into the air, drawing out electricity from its body and into its cheeks. Charmeleon moved to dodge, but he let out a cry of pain as electricity sparked across his body and paralyzed him. Just before Volt let out the deadly attack, a blur shot through the air and slammed into it. Red admired his pokemon's selflessness as it sacrificed itself for its comrade. Volt released the attack as the two fell to the ground and fried Ivysaur. They both crashed into the ground, and when the dust cleared, it revealed that they were also both unconscious.

"Thanks so much Ivysaur." Red now nodded to Pikachu, who eagerly jumped onto the battle field. Yellow smiled excitedly as he released his final pokemon. Red's stomach dropped as the pokemon's form was revealed. Yellow's pokemon was a large, blue snake-like pokemon that gave the appearance of elegance and power all at once. Red, of course, recognized the pokemon almost immediately, but Leaf had to consult her pokedex.

"A dragonair?" She looked slightly queasy as she returned her pokedex to her bag. While it was very intimidating, Leaf couldn't help but admire the beauty of the pokemon.

"Red, should we do it?" Leaf asked, her eyes wide with excitement. Red smirked, paused, and then nodded his approval. Leaf did a quick fist pump before she became serious about the battle again.

"Flame burst!"

"Electro ball." Charmeleon raised his head and opened his mouth to begin forming the familiar fiery mass. Pikachu rushed towards Charmeleon, electricity condensing to take on the form of a ball near his tail. Just as the flame burst attack reached max size, Pikachu leaped through the air and shoved the electric ball into the ball of flames. The result was a powerful fireball crackling with electricity. Both Wartortle and Dragonair avoided the direct attack, but neither could escape the sparks and embers that exploded from the ball. Leaf laughed giddily at the success of the attack. Wartortle was looking pretty worn down now, though the attack barely had any effect on Dragonair.

"Impressive, but you're no match for Sapphire. Show them what you're made of with a twister attack."

The gem's on Sapphire's tail began to glow and it waved its tail towards them, sending a tornado at Charmeleon and Pikachu. Pikachu dodged, but Charmeleon took the brunt of the attack. Charmeleon was panting heavily now, though the flame on its tail seemed to be growing stronger with each passing second. Wartortle reengaged itself in the battle with a water gun attack that Charmeleon narrowly avoided. Charmeleon retaliated with an immense flamethrower attack that seemed to devour the water pokemon.

"Don't let up Charmeleon!" Charmeleon surged forward, allowing no time for Wartortle to recover. Charmeleon mercilessly slashed and swiped at Wartortle, who could barely keep up with Charmeleon's furious attacks. A spark danced across Charmeleon, giving Wartortle the chance it needed to retreat inside its shell. Charmeleon opened its mouth, and this time the flames pouring from its jaws seemed different. They must have felt different too because Wartortle let out a cry of pain before fainting. Charmeleon was panting hard and covered in bruises, but he beamed when Blue returned his last pokemon.

"That was dragon rage," Red explained to Leaf, answering her unasked questions. She nodded, admiring her starter pokemon's power. Yellow only smiled larger when Blue returned his pokemon, as though things would finally get entertaining for him. He nodded to his pokemon, who rushed forward with a glowing tail. Charmeleon moved to dodge the attack, but paralyses kept him rooted to the spot. Sapphire's tail slammed into Charmeleon, sending him through the air and into the wall. Charmeleon crumpled to the ground, completely exhausted and beaten.

"Thanks so much Charmeleon. You did great," She praised her pokemon as she returned. Leaf let out a deep sigh. Well at least she had defeated Blue, even though it didn't help Red much now. It was just him against Yellow, who had a type resistance to most of Red's attacks. Leaf couldn't help but feel useless as she watched the two pokemon exchange powerful blows.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Twister!"

The attacks collided in the air and exploded, showering the arena in sparks. Pikachu rushed forward and slammed into Sapphire with a quick attack. The dragon pokemon let out a grunt as Pikachu knocked the air out of it. Dragonair retaliated by whiping out and grabbing Pikachu with its tail. It wrapped its tail around Pikachu tightly, slowly squeezing all the air from the pokemon. Pikachu reacted like any rational pokemon would and pumped watt after watt into it. Sapphire didn't seem to be letting up though, and Pikachu was running out of electricity to fill the dragonair with. Red assessed the situation calmly, his mind working furiously to devise a solution.

"Thunder wave!"

Pikachu let out another round of sparks, but this time Sapphire seized up, allowing Pikachu the chance to slip away. Red smirked, as Dragonair struggled to move.

"Quick attack and electro ball!"

Pikachu blurred in and out of vision as he charged towards Sapphire. An electric ball had formed on his tail, which he hurled as he made contact. With the combination of the two attacks, Sapphire was actually starting to look worn down. Pikachu smiled through pants, legs tensed and ready to move if it tried to grad him again. Dragonair took a deep breathe, and suddenly it was as though it had never been paralyzed. It moved with surprising speed as it unleashed its own dragon rage attack on Pikachu. Pikachu, surprised by its sudden speed, didn't have a chance to dodge. Red chalked up the dragonair's sudden speed to its shed skin ability, which allowed it to recover from status effects. Pikachu tumbled backwards until he came to rest at Red's feet. The small yellow pokemon slowly pushed himself up, a fierce desire to fight burning within him.

"Let's go Pikachu, use spark." Pikachu's body sparked with electircity as he ran towards Sapphire. Sapphire didn't back down though. Once Pikachu was in range, it lashed out with its tail and struck Pikachu. Pikachu crashed into the ground, and this time there was no getting up. Red stood in shock as the crowd cheered loudly for their winner. He numbly bent down and picked up his wounded pokemon. He gave Pikachu a small smile of appreciation as they walked towards their opponents at center field.

Leaf gritted her teeth as she fought a ridiculous urge to cry. How stupid it would be to break down in tears in front of everyone. She held her chin up, fighting off her emotions and keeping a somewhat confident demeanor, or so she thought. She shook both Yellow's and Blue's hands, meeting each of their eyes. The two boys happily accepted their prizes as a man crowned them victors. Leaf and Red walked back out the door they had come in though, shutting out some of the deafening noise. Neither of them talked for a moment, the taste of defeat too bitter for them to handle.

"They were good. We'll just have to be better next time," Red finally said. Leaf nodded in agreement as she followed him out towards the pokemon center. The received their other pokemon back from the lady behind the counter before presenting them to Nurse Joy. She happily accepted them, while complementing them both on a wonderful battle. Leaf thanked her kindly and started up some small talk, but Red couldn't shake the sour taste from his mouth. His eyes darted up as Blue and Yellow walked by them, each with a flock of girls fanning over them. Yellow noticed Red looking and gave him a small smile of recognition. Red turned away, anger bubbling inside him.

"You okay?" Leaf asked as they exited the arena.

"I'll never lose to him again. I'm going to train until no one questions my abilities as a trainer," Red vowed with such confidence that it momentarily left Leaf speechless.

"Good. I don't want you to lose to him either." She smiled at him despite her own feelings of frustration and regret.

Red clenched his fists at his side. He would become stronger, and he would defeat Yellow. One day, Red was going to be the champion of all of Kanto. If he couldn't even defeat some cocky teenager, how would he ever beat the elite four or the current champion. Yellow first, then Team Rocket. Once those two were out of his way, he would have a clear shot at the title, and Red was going to have that title.

**I apologize for the length of this chapter and the time it took to write. I am done with the tournament now though, so hopefully things will start to pick up again. I'm pretty excited for some of the things that are going to happen in the next couple chapters. Not to mention that it's summer! I hope all of you guys have a wonderful day. Don't forget to favorite, follow, or review. Thanks so much!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Red anxiously drummed his fingers on the table as the phone rang again and again. After the fifth ring, a middle-aged woman with dark hair and tired eyes appeared on the screen. She yawned, but the second she registered who was calling her, she snapped awake. She grinned happily, waving.

"Red! How have you been? It's been so long since you last called, almost two weeks! Have you caught any new pokemon? How's Leaf? Where is she?" His mom asked the questions rapid fire.

Red sighed, but smiled. He had not inherited his personality from her, that's for sure. She liked to cover up her troubles and exhaustion with almost painful optimism and enthusiasm. He worried about his mom a lot, especially since he had left on his journey.

"I've been doing great, and no. I haven't caught any new pokemon since you last called, but Nidoran did evolve. Leaf is doing good too. She's just running through some light training with her pokemon right now," He replied, ticking off each question.

"So what have you been up to?" She asked, eagerly watching him.

"I just finished up a doubles tournament yesterday with Leaf."

"Did you win?"

Red looked away for a second, his voice bitter, "No. Second."

"That's great though honey! You've only been doing this for a couple months, so don't get too upset if you don't win every battle." She nodded, like she was agreeing with herself.

"Hmph. How have you been doing?" Red asked, steering the conversation away from him.

"Oh, ya know, same old, same old," She paused, scrunching her face up, "There was something odd that happened the other day."

"What?" Red demanded, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest.

"So I was at home the other day, minding my own business, when I heard a knock on the door. Of course I answered it, and it turned out that it was none other than the police knocking at my door. Now I thought this was fishy, but I didn't say anything. They claimed that you were a suspect for some pokemon kidnapping case and I would have to go with them for questioning. I knew there was no way that you would ever get involved with anything so awful though. I told them that I wasn't going with them unless they had some evidence and a warrant and to get out of my house," She finished, looking rather pleased with herself.

Red felt as though he were choking. They hadn't just come after Leaf and him, but now they had come after his mother. A wave of pure rage washed through Red, blurring his vision red. If they laid even one finger on his mother…

"I haven't done anything like that Mom. If they come back, don't go with them. You should tell Professor Oak. There is something going on." Red struggled so much to keep his voice even that it sounded as though he were coughing the words out.

"Do you know something?" His mother demanded with a look only a mother can give her son.

"No, it's just that weird things have been going on…" Red let his voice trail off, an indicator that he didn't want to talk about it. She watched him a moment before sighing.

"I just worry about you a lot."

"I know. I'm sorry." He couldn't look at her.

Footsteps and a loud panting breathe indicated that Leaf was approaching him. She ran over to the phone, Psyduck struggling to keep up behind her. Leaf grinned widely at his mom, her eyes genuinely shining in excitement.

"Hey there!" Leaf greeted her.

"Look how much you've grown in the past couple months! You just keep getting prettier and prettier!" She cooed, causing Leaf to blush.

"Alright Mom, we better get going," Red sighed, cutting the conversation before it became anything too disastrous.

"Alright sweetie. Good luck on your journey! I love you!" She waved before the screen clicked off and turned black. Red glanced back at Leaf, who was giggling and smiling happily.

"I think we should go explore around outside the city. Maybe we could catch some cool pokemon!" Leaf suggested excitedly.

Red nodded in agreement and followed Leaf as she skipped out the door. With a clear blue sky, a light breeze, and the sun warming their backs, the day was something plucked from a story book. Leaf seemed to be enjoying the perfect weather as she would smile or wave happily at every single person that walked past her. While Leaf had seemed to get over their loss rather quickly, Red was still a bit upset about it. Maybe he was just being sore loser, but he couldn't help but feel frustrated and angry every time he thought about it.

"You're not still thinking about our battle are you?" Leaf demanded, poking his shoulder. Red just huffed in response and turned away from her.

"Don't be such a baby Red. I've lost a bunch of times, but you don't see me pouting. There are better trainers than you out there and you'll just have to live with that fact. All we can do is continue to train and become even stronger." Leaf wagged her finger at him as she lectured him.

"I wasn't pouting." He swatted her finger away from his face.

"Whatever, I won't let your sour attitude bring me down. Today is going to be a great, whether you want it to be or not," Leaf declared confidently, Psyduck nodding in agreement.

As they neared the edge of the city, the terrain become slightly more open with a few trees dotting the land. Red noticed a large opening in one of the sides of the hill that was partially covered with bushes and overgrown grass. Curious, he motioned Leaf in the direction of the cave. She eagerly ran over to investigate the opening.

"Wow! What do you think it is?" She peered inside it, though only darkness filled the cave, leaving your imagination to wonder what might be hiding under its veil. Red pulled back a bush to reveal a tattered sign labeled Diglett's Cave. The cave seemed to lead back to Pewter City, which could come in handy some time. Leaf had returned Psyduck and brought out Charmeleon.

"Let's go investigate! I want to catch a ground pokemon that I could maybe use against Lt. Surge," she explained as she walked into the cave. Pikachu shifted nervously on Red's shoulder when he followed Leaf. Soon their only source of light came from Charmeleon's flickering flame. The shadows it cast jumped and danced, making everything around them look distorted and threatening. As they rounded a corner, another light up ahead become visible. This light seemed different though, more directed like a flashlight. The light swung around, temporarily blinding them as it shinned in their faces.

"Hello?" A loud, gravelly voice called out as a large shape waved at them.

"Hi!" Leaf called back, shielding her eyes from the light with one hand and waving with the other. He must have realized he was blinding her because the light dimmed and was directed away from their faces. The man approaching them was big all around with a scruffy, thick, brown beard covering half of his face. His kind blue eyes were the only thing that kept the man from being very intimidating. The flashlight turned out to be attached to a yellow hard hat resting on his head. The man happily introduced himself as Greg, but Red was more focused on the pokemon hiding behind his monstrous legs. The small fox-like pokemon was nervously watching Leaf before it glanced over at Red. The second their eyes made contact, it looked down and cowered behind his leg even more if possible.

"What brings you two here?" Greg asked.

"We were just exploring and hoping to catch a pokemon or two. We are pokemon trainers," Leaf announced proudly.

Greg laughed, but looked troubled. "I'm afraid this isn't a very safe place to be exploring right now. Vulpix and I were just trying to secure the area and warn people away."

"What happened?" Leaf asked confused.

"There is a powerful, and mean pokemon on the loose that's bullied the dugtrio into following its command. They've forced the other pokemon out of their homes and people are scared to travel through here, so I decided to come here and deal with it. I am an expert hiker," Greg explained proudly.

"Oh no! We'll help you stop this pokemon!" Leaf volunteered them. Red shrugged in agreement. He had to admit he was a little curious about this powerful pokemon, but also about the vulpix following Greg around.

"Are you sure? This pokemon is all the way on the other side of the cave, though its dugtrio are scattered throughout the cave. It could be a long and dangerous task," he warned them.

"Yeah, of course. Our pokemon are strong enough to handle it." Leaf nodded quickly, and Pikachu cried in agreement, much more energized now.

"Alright follow me."

Greg lead them through the cave, though for the most part it was one, long winding tunnel. Greg explained to them how this was the only place in all of Kanto that dugtrio could be found. He had come from a small village just south of Pewter City and had been collecting ground and rock type pokemon. Greg had just finished recounting the epic tale of when he'd caught his most powerful pokemon, an onix, when a question popped into Red's head.

"So if you collect rock and ground type pokemon, why do you have a vulpix?" Vulpix glanced up at him at the mention of her name, but looked away quickly.

"Well Vulpix is a little different. I found this pretty little girl when I was journeying through the Rock Tunnel. Her trainer had abandoned her there and it looked like she had been pretty beat up by the wild pokemon there. I took pity on her and nursed her back to health. Ever since then, she's stuck by my side and even rushed to my aid a couple times. She may be a little shy, but Vulpix is a very loyal pokemon." Greg fondly patted Vulpix's head.

Pikachu jumped from Red's back and approached Vulpix. Vulpix nervously watched as Pikachu gave a friendly greeting. After a few minutes, Vulpix had warmed up to Pikachu and now they walked side-by-side. Charmeleon seemed to want to become friends with the fire pokemon as well, but Vulpix just ran away before he even had a chance to talk. Charmeleon hung his head and sadly turned back to Leaf.

"Aw, it's alright Charmeleon. She's probably just scared cause you're so big and cool looking!" Leaf cheered her pokemon up.

They continued their walk through the tunnel, which was uneventful for the most part. Ever once in a while they would encounter a fork in the road, but Greg would confidently navigate them in the right direction. After about an hour of walking, an odd looking pokemon emerged from the ground. Red recognized the pokemon as dugtrio, though he had never seen one in real life. Leaf curiously examined the pokemon, which looked kind of looked like brown toes- minus the toe nail- sticking out of the ground with two beady black eyes and a pink nose. The dugtrio glared angrily at them while a white triangle formed between its head. The triangle released a bolt of white energy. Charmeleon jumped into action and canceled out the attack with a flamethrower.

"Quick attack!"

"Flamethrower!"

Pikachu rushed forward and slammed into the dugtrio before quickly retreating back to Red's side. Charmeleon bathed the ground type pokemon in a sea of burning flames. When the red cleared though, the dugtrio had disappeared. Leaf tensely waited for the pokemon to emerge somewhere, but it never did. After a couple of minutes, Red deemed it safe and began to walk again.

"I wonder what is underneath the dugtrio. They can't just be heads, right?" Lead wondered out loud. Red shrugged, and glanced over at Greg, who, to his surprise, did not give his expert opinion on the subject.

"Nobody really knows," he admitted.

"How can they not know? All you have to do is pick them up," Leaf reasoned, to which Greg just shrugged to in response. Leaf let out a sigh of defeat. Red smiled in amusement at Leaf. She seemed to have an endless abundance of curiosity about the world around her. She was always asking questions and investigating everything around them. Red wondered what Leaf thought about him sometimes. The boy who stood silently by and analyzed everything in the most logical sense. Sometimes Red pictured Leaf and him as Yin and Yang. Different in almost every way, but simultaneously the same.

Before long, Leaf's stomach let out a monstrous rumble. She blushed and giggled nervously, rubbing it like that would tame the beast. Greg's laughter was thunder echoing through the tunnel walls and amplifying it. "Sounds like it's about time for lunch. Why don't we stop and take a short break?" He suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Leaf agreed, plopping onto the ground. Red pulled out the small amount of food he had been carrying around shared it with Pikachu. Leaf was happily chatting with Greg about ground type pokemon as she ate. Red listened silently, not really inclined to join the conversation. He noticed Vulpix eyeing the food Pikachu was eating before it glanced up at him and looked away. He tore off a piece of the food and held it out to Vulpix in a sign of friendship. She stared at him warily for a moment and then accepted the food. Vulpix retreated back behind Greg's leg, but Red noted that she was watching them much more openly now, almost curiously.

After they finished eating, they packed up their supplies and continued through the cave. Red really hoped this pokemon wasn't too much farther away because he didn't like the idea of staying the night in this cave. A couple more dugtrio attacked them, but they were easily scared away.

Suddenly, the ground in front of them shook violently. Red reached back for a pokeball, prepared to fight off another dugtrio. The pokemon that emerged from the ground was not a dugtrio though. The large black pokemon with fearsome claws that sprang from the ground was a lot more powerful than just some dugtrio. It turned towards them, the silver blade extending off its forehead gleaming in the fire's light. Leaf brought out her pokedex and identified it as an excadrill.

Greg furrowed his brow and looked over the pokemon in confusion. "That's odd, this type of pokemon usually is only found in the Unova region," he remarked.

"You're right, but unless you want to be pummeled by it, then you better pay up," A mysterious, and also slightly snotty voice, called out from the darkness. A figure walked through the darkness from behind the excadrill. He was obviously a pokemon trainer, but he seemed older than Red and Leaf. His pointed nose and gelled blue hair gave the impression of a snobby, overconfident jerk.

"Who are you?!" Leaf demanded, Charmander tensing in preparation for battle.

"I'm the owner of this pokemon, and if you want to pass through this cave unharmed then you'll have to hand over some money. If you don't than I can't guarantee that it won't attack." He smiled at them, as though he thought he had them trapped.

"You can't do that! This cave is home to hundreds of peaceful pokemon, but you've scared the and forced them to fight for you. You can't force people to pay for a safe travel!" Greg protested angrily.

"Watch me. Pay up or you'll see just what I can and can't do," he sneered confidently.

"No." Red said the words cooly, enlarging his pokeball.

"Excadrill, show them what we do to people who don't pay their fare." The large pokemon charged forward, head lowered. Charmeleon intercepted the attack with a metal claw. The two pokemon pushed off each other, before preparing for their next attack.

"Let me take this one Leaf," Red said and then nodded towards the dugtrio that had started sprouting from the ground, "You handle them."

Leaf nodded and Charmeleon charged towards one of the ground type pokemon. Greg also brought out one of his own pokemon, a geodude, and was fighting off the dugtrio. Red tossed out his pokeball and snatched it out of the air as it bounced back. Ivysaur reached out his vines and intercepted another attack just before it could hit. Before either of them could attack, a stream of flames slammed into Excadrill.

Red turned back, expecting to find Charmeleon backing him up, but instead saw Vulpix standing fiercely. Excadrill wrenched away from Ivysaur's grip and slammed both of its claws into the ground before throwing two balls of mud at Ivysaur. While Ivysaur was distracted, Excadrill slashed at Ivysaur repetitively in a fury swipes attack.

"Razor Leaf!" Red instructed.

"Rapid Spin!" The rude trainer called out.

Ivysaur fired a barrage of leaves at Excadrill, but the pokemon managed to dodge them. It launched itself forward, spinning furiously. Red realized it wasn't aiming for Ivysaur though; it was aiming for Vulpix. Ivysaur was too far away to pull Vulpix to safety, so, without a second thought, Red rushed forward and snatched Vulpix from harm's way. The attack whizzed past him, barely missing. He glanced back to see Excadrill preparing for another attack, but Ivysaur tackled it to the ground. Ivysaur was obviously furious as it mercilessly whipped Excadrill with its vines.

Vulpix looked up at Red in surprise and gratitude. He offered the small pokemon a pat on the head and a warm smile. Vulpix stared at him for a moment more before hopping from his arms in determination.

Ivysaur was thrown from Excadrill back towards Red. Vulpix stepped in front of Ivysaur, the shy pokemon somehow managing to look enraged and very fierce. Vulpix dodged another mud slap attack and rammed into Excadrill. The attack did little damage, but the ember attack following it brought Excadrill to its knees.

"Don't you dare lose to weaklings like them! Use rock slide!"

Excadrill rose it arms into the air, white rings forming above its head. Rocks appeared from the rings, which Excadrill hurled at Vulpix.

"Ivysaur, protect Vulpix!"

Ivysaur's vines formed an x shape in front of vulpix, absorbing the attack. Vulpix rushed forward, away from Ivysaur's protection. Another rock was hurled at her, but she gracefully dodged the rock. She released a flamethrower attack that engulfed Excadrill and left it unconscious.

"Nice work!" Leaf complimented them, Charmeleon hovering by her side. The dugtrio had disappeared, so Greg and Leaf must have defeated them or scared them all off. Greg looked extremely pleased with Vulpix as it ran up to him.

The trainer sputtered, at a loss for words, as he returned his pokemon. He took a hesitant step back before turning and fleeing.

"Who's the weakling now?!" Leaf called after him, laughing victoriously. Greg had set Vulpix back on the ground and was messing with something in his bag. He pulled out a pokeball, and to Red's surprise, handed it to him. Red stared at the pokeball before looking up at him questioningly.

"I want you to take Vulpix. From the way you battled, I can tell that you two are already a great pair. I'm just not suited to train a pokemon like that, and I know that you'll take great care of her," He explained, looking down at Vulpix lovingly. Vulpix rubbed up against his leg before hesitantly walking towards Red. Red crouched down in front of Vulpix and held his arms out. Vulpix happily ran into them and pressed against Red.

"Thank you. I promise to take great care of her." He stood up with Vulpix, happily petting his newest pokemon. Leaf awwed from behind them, clasping her hands together in front of her heart as she cooed.

"Thank you so much both of you. I wish you both the best of luck on your travels. Hopefully one day we'll meet again." He waved at them as he continued through the tunnel.

"Bye!" Leaf called out, waving at him.

The walk back seemed to pass much faster than the walk there. Vulpix was getting along well with both Charmeleon and Pikachu now. Leaf was chattering about anything and everything like always. Red smiled because for the first time in a while he felt free. There was nothing to worry about right now; all there was to do was enjoy this moment. Red wished that it could just stay like this forever.

**Not my favorite ending, but I wanted to get this chapter posted. I've always really liked Vulpix, so I thought it would be a good fit for Red. Just curious, which character do you relate to most? Personally, I feel like I'm a bit like Leaf, but I definitely have my Red moments. Thanks so much for reading. Please leave a review of what you thought of this chapter or any advice you'd like to give me!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Leaf leisurely walked down the sidewalk, her feet carrying her forward to nowhere. Red had gone off to go train somewhere and said he wanted to be alone with his pokemon for a little bit. Since there was no way she was going to fall behind, Leaf stayed at the pokemon center and did some light training of her own. Leaf had worked with her pokemon for a while, but Red still hadn't shown up. So here she was, just talking a walk through the city 'cause why not?

While Leaf wanted Red to return, she was also hoping that he would stay away just a little bit longer. Red had agreed earlier that once he returned, they would head over to the Pokemon Gym. It had been a couple days since they visited Diglett's Tunnel, and in the time, both of them had completed a lot of rigorous training. Leaf was excited at the opportunity to earn another gym badge, but the possibility of failure haunted her. She knew that being afraid of failure was an awful excuse to not try, but she couldn't help her feelings. If she lost, she would only be falling farther behind Red, and Blue, and now even Yellow.

Leaf sighed, looking around for anything to take her mind off the looming battle when a shop caught her eye. It was slightly shady looking with dim lights and dark features visible from the large display window, but the spooky appearance didn't bother Leaf. On display were an assortment of accessories, and clothing. The thing that caught her eye were the masks though.

She entered the costume shop excitedly, taking everything in as her head swiveled around. The shop owner looked up from the magazine he was reading, blew out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette, and let out a grunt before continuing to ignore her. Leaf marveled at all the different costumes displayed around her. She knew some people liked to dress up like their favorite characters and go to conventions, but that had never interested her.

She approached a wall of hard masks, all of their faces expertly painted to resemble pokemon. She plucked two from the wall:a charmander and a bulbasaur. She grinned brightly as she brought them over to the man behind the counter.

"How much for these?" Leaf smiled at him as she pushed the masks towards him. He glanced up before punching a couple buttons on the cash register. Before he could answer, Leaf shoved a handful of money in his direction. While he was ringing her up, she spotted something else.

"Oh, wait one second!" She exclaimed as she ran over to a wall to inspect two black jackets. It was obviously a replicated jacket from some popular movie, so the leather wasn't real leather. It was slightly longer in the front with buttons running up one side of it. There were also a lot of pockets, and it was light weight, not to mention it looked pretty cool too. Leaf pulled two from the rack and grabbed a pair of black gloves to go along with each.

"Is that all?" The man asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Leaf nodded and payed the extra amount. She happily took her bag from him and exited the store. She couldn't wait to see the look on Red's face when she showed him.

When Leaf returned to the pokemon center, she found Red lounging on one of the couches with Pikachu curled up on his stomach. Pikachu lifted his head and Red gave her a half wave as she approached. He eyed the bag questioningly.

"You're going to love what I got! It's super cool!" Leaf began by pulling out the gloves, which earned her a weird look from Red, next she pulled out the matching jackets, one in each of their sizes. Finally, she pulled out the bulbasaur and charmander masks. She handed him a jacket, a pair of gloves, and the mask.

"Um, what is this?" He turned the bulbasaur mask over in his hand. Leaf put her own mask on and grinned goofily at him even though he couldn't see it.

"A disguise!" She replied happily.

"For what?" Red continued to just stare at her. Leaf pulled her mask up and looked around to make sure no one was listening. Then she whispered, "Just in case we ever, ya know, have a run in with Team Rocket. Then we can fight back without being afraid they'll find out who we are."

Red reexamined his mask in a new light. He definitely didn't like the idea of them ever meeting up with Team Rocket again, but it would be nice to have some sort of cover.

"Hmm, that's actually a pretty good idea," Red acknowledged. Leaf beamed at the praise and then tucked her disguise away in her bag.

"So, I guess that we better head over to the gym!" Leaf said with obviously fake confidence. Red cocked his eyebrow, but didn't question it. Leaf lead the way towards the gym, her head held high. She'd already gone over which pokemon she'd be using and a thousand different ways that this battle could end.

The gym was located near the ocean and seemed to dwarf all the surrounding buildings. It really just looked like a giant warehouse with large lightning bolts crisscrossing over the door and sparking up from behind it. As Leaf reached to open the door, a young girl cradling her meowth burst from the door, tears streaming down her face. Leaf watched as she rushed off in the direction of the pokemon center, her stomach suddenly very queasy. Red didn't say anything, but gave her an encouraging smile. Leaf gulped, and opened the door.

The inside was what you'd expect of a typical gym. The only significant thing about the place was the massive man standing in front of them, almost as though he was waiting, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Leaf almost stepped back in surprise at the huge figure standing in front of her. The man's blonde hair was spiked up and his muscles looked as though they might burst from his unbelievably large biceps at any moment. Standing next to the man was an equally smug looking Raichu with its arms crossed. He reached up and lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at them. The man suddenly burst into a loud laughter. Leaf felt her face go red hot, and she crossed her arms in front of herself defensively.

"What's so funny?" She demanded angrily.

"A little baby like you thinks that you're actually a match for me?" He taunted as he loomed over her. Leaf looked up into his eyes, a fierceness blazing in her own brown eyes. So this was Lt. Surge, the crazy, insanely buff, and slightly frightening gym leader of Vermilion City. Even if he made her feel significantly smaller than normal, there was no way she was going to show him weakness.

"I think I'm more than a match for you. I'll take you on right here, right now. Unless you're scared?" Leaf shot right back at him, surprised by her own overabundance of confidence. She swore the veins on his forehead might just pop out as he glowered at her. And then, he smiled at her.

"I like your spirit kid, but it won't be enough," he chuckled as he walked over to his side of the battle field. Leaf simultaneously tried to walk calmly and rush over to her own side, resulting in a hasty speed walk/jog. Red gave her a subtle head nod and a wish of good luck before taking a seat in the deserted stands. The referee wearily took his position on the battlefield and repeated the rules of the battle in a monotone voice. Leaf was only half-listening as he drawled, her hand anxiously hovering over the pokeball strapped to her belt. Finally, he brought down his flag to start the battle.

Leaf threw out her pokeball, releasing Oddish onto the field. Standing, or not really standing, opposite her was a pokemon that at first glance you might mistake as an oversized pokeball. Then you might notice its angry eyes or the fact that it explodes. Leaf had heard a lot about voltorb, mostly to stay away from them. They were infamous for blowing up if you angered or scared them. While their trademark move, self-destruct, might be strong enough to knock a pokemon out, it also took its user down with it, making it a tricky move. Leaf had no doubt that if things turned bad for Lt. Surge, Voltorb would explode. She was definitely going to need something to counter that powerful attack if she wanted to win this battle.

Lt. Surge began to laugh again and was about to make a rude comment about Leaf' pokemon when she commanded her pokemon, "Let's start this off with a poison powder."

Oddish shook its head and a thin cloud of purple spores began to spread across the field. Voltorb just continued to glare as the plume of poison crept closer and closer, awaiting a command from its trainer.

"Tackle!" Lt. Surge yelled, his booming voice bouncing off every wall.

Voltorb rapidly rolled right into the poison powder attack. Leaf smiled victoriously at first, thinking her attack had been successful, but then realized that it had absolutely no effect on the electric pokemon. As the pokemon rolled, it created a kind of force field around itself by displacing the air and propelling the powder away from it. Oddish leapt away before the attack could strike and waited for a command from a safe distance. Luckily for Voltorb, the poison in the air began to dissipate. If Leaf wanted to inflict a status condition, she was going to need to slow down or inflict it on Voltorb a different way.

"Sweet Scent, then Sleep Powder." Oddish shook her head, creating an intoxicating aroma that wafted through the air. Voltorb paused, hypnotized by its entrancing scent. Oddish then released the sleep powder, putting Voltorb out. Lt. Surge began to yell at his pokemon to wake up and even threatened it one time. Leaf ignored his shouts and focused on Oddish.

"Acid." Oddish opened her small mouth and fired a ball of black sludge at Voltorb. The attack struck and Voltorb flinched in its sleep, but thankfully didn't wake. Oddish fired another Acid attack, which successfully hit as well. Voltorb's eyes snapped open and locked on Oddish. Oddish took an unconscious step backwards, unnerved by the raw anger in the pokemon's eyes.

"Voltorb use Sonicboom!" Lt. Surge commanded loudly. Voltorb spun quickly in place, creating a sonic wave that rushed towards Oddish. Oddish attempted to dodge, but was struck by the attack. Before the small pokemon could recover, Voltorb delivered another tackle attack. Oddish flew backwards and struggled back to her feet. Oddish attempted another acid attack, but Voltorb rolled away before it could strike.

As far as speed went, Voltorb was definitely faster. Sure, Leaf had worked a lot with all of her pokemon on increasing their speed, but electric pokemon were just generally faster. Oddish was going to have to rely on something else if they were going to win.

"Spark!"

"Absorb"

Voltorb began to crackle with electricity. The pokemon charged, or rolled, towards Oddish. Oddish held her ground as she launched her own attack. A red beam formed on Oddish's forehead and struck Voltorb. Though the beam didn't seem to be physically pushing Voltorb back, it slowed the pokemon slightly. Oddish was still struck by the attack. Oddish was starting to look pretty beat up as it slowly regained its footing.

"You can do it Oddish, just hang in there!" Leaf encouraged her pokemon. Oddish let out a cry and suddenly the pokemon began to glow white. Oddish's form began to glow, and when the light faded, a Gloom stood in front of her. A brown flower now sat on top of Gloom's head with orange leaves sprouting out its sides. Gloom's eyes were closed, as though the pokemon were exhausted, and a small amount of drool hung out of her mouth. Despite the saliva leaking down her chin, Leaf thought her newly evolved pokemon was pretty cute and strong looking.

"You evolved! I'm so proud of you Gloom!" Leaf squealed happily.

Leaf was actually very impressed and surprised with her pokemon's evolution. Oddish had been training hard and sparring with some of Leaf's other pokemon, but this was her first official battle. Leaf suddenly felt as though she were really becoming a strong pokemon trainer, not just another kid who leaves the nest for a couple of months only to come back defeated and heartbroken.

Lt. Surge looked over his pokemon, who was panting heavily and then at the newly evolved Gloom. Leaf knew what he was thinking even before he could say anything and there was no way she was going to let him take down her pokemon with his own. Gloom must have realized his thoughts as well because her flower began to glow before releasing a green beam. Like absorb, the attack drained Voltorb's energy. Voltorb tried to resist, but the electric pokemon succumbed to the attack. Voltorb rolled over on to its side, its eyes a swirl as it lay unconscious.

Lt. Surge returned his pokemon unhappily, but the look on his face as he gave Raichu a nod suggested that he wasn't worried in the slightest. Raichu rushed onto the field, the sacs on its cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Raichu is my strongest pokemon yet, and there's no way some little girl like you can have any pokemon strong enough to take it on," He boasted, Raichu nodding in agreement.

"We'll see about that. Use Mega Drain again!"

Gloom aimed a Mega Drain attack at Raichu, but Raichu leapt to the side. Raichu then sent a deadly thundershock attack at Gloom. The attack hit, but the damage Gloom sustained wasn't nearly as much Leaf had anticipated. Since Gloom was a grass type, she did have a natural resistance to electric types.

"Acid!"

"Body Slam!"

Gloom fired Acid attack after Acid attack at Raichu. Raichu charged at Gloom, agilely avoiding ever attack. Raichu leaped into the air above Gloom, its arms and legs flayed so it looked like it was belly flopping. Raichu body slammed Gloom, leaving the pokemon barely conscious. Leaf's confidence was now replaced with fear and guilt. What kind of trainer let their pokemon just take this kind of beating?

"Come on Gloom, Sweet Scent and then Mega Drain," Leaf encouraged Gloom. Gloom released the familiar sweet smelling aroma, slowing Raichu enough for Mega Drain to hit. Gloom looked a little better after sucking health from Raichu, but the grass type pokemon was still pretty tired.

"Finish this runt off Raichu. Thunderbolt." Lt. Surge's arms were crossed in front of his chest and he wore a stupidly smug look on his face. Raichu's body crackled with electricity before it jumped to Gloom. Gloom was struck head on by the attack. The grass pokemon cried out in pain as electricity coursed through its body and collapsed to the ground. Leaf's heart pounded in her chest as she returned her pokemon. That Raichu had sheer power. Even a resistancy didn't seem to do much to slow that pokemon down. Leaf tossed out her last pokeball and snatched it out of the air as it bounced back to her. Charmeleon faced Raichu, his tail burning brightly in anticipation of the fight.

As far as sheer strength went, Charmeleon was Leaf's most powerful pokemon. Raichu seemed to be fairly fast and had strong electric attacks, which made a deadly combination. Going in for a physical attack would be risky because of Raichu's static ability. Leaf was either going to have to find a way to slow it down, or out-power it.

"Flamethrower," Leaf instructed.

Charmeleon opened its mouth and released a stream of flames at Raichu. As expected, Raichu dodged the attacked, but barely.

"Scary Face, and then Dragon Rage." Charmeleon's face distorted into something terrifying, causing Raichu to pause. Charmeleon used to opportunity to use dragon rage. Raichu tumbled backwards from the force of the attack and struggled back to its feet. The electric pokemon looked angry as sparks jumped across its cheeks.

"Quick attack!" Raichu surged towards Charmeleon and struck him head on. Charmeleon managed to block the blunt of the blow by absorbing the hit with his forearms crossed in front of his chest. Raichu's cheeks sparked and a second later electricity raced over Charmeleon. Charmeleon stumbled away, but the electricity clung to him. It took Leaf a moment to recognize the attack as Nuzzle, which left the opposing pokemon with paralysis. Crap.

"Ha! Your Charmeleon won't be going anywhere now." Lt. Surge taunted. Raichu laughed in unison with its trainer, which boiled Leaf's blood. There was no way she was going to lose now.

"Finish this battle with a thunderbolt!" He commanded Raichu. Raichu attacked with the familiar bolt of lightning. Charmeleon attempted to dodge, but was rooted in place as electricity danced across his scales. The fire pokemon cried out in agony as the attack struck.

"Don't give up Charmeleon! Power through and use Flamethrower!" Leaf yelled, praying that her pokemon had enough strength to fight back. Charmeleon lifted his head and locked onto his prey. Fighting through the pain wracking his body, Charmeleon unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack. Raichu watched in shock as flames shot out at it, consuming it. For a moment, the two were locked in a deadly match between fire and electricity, but then the electricity disappeared. Charmeleon stopped the flamethrower attack and dropped to one knee, panting heavily and peering across the field with one eye open. Raichu tottered on its feet for a long second and then crumpled to the ground. Lt. Surge stared in shock at his fallen pokemon while Leaf cheered loudly for her pokemon.

Lt. Surge shook his head in disbelief as he returned his pokemon. Red smiled as he descended the stairs towards his friend, happy that she had succeeded.

"We did it! We did it!" Leaf cheered as she hugged her pokemon. Charmeleon weakly agreed, barely able to summon the strength for his own cheer. Leaf must have realized how exhausted her pokemon was because she returned it shortly afterwards. Lt. Surge strode across the field where he meet Leaf in the middle. He shook her hand and handed her a yellow badge with a red gem in the middle.

"Wow, I never thought I would say this, but you deserve this badge. Keep training hard kid." He patted Leaf's head, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Um, thanks I guess." She smiled at him awkwardly as she received her badge. Lt. Surge turned towards Red, who was standing on the edge of the field.

"Do you plan on challenging me as well kid? You better not be a baby," Lt. Surge challenged Red, who just nodded in response.

"Tomorrow," He confirmed, his hands deep in his pockets, giving him a cool, laid-back look.

"You better bring your best pokemon 'cause there is no way I'm losing twice," Lt. Surge called after them as they exited the gym.

"Nice job," Red complimented Leaf, which earned him a grin that spread ear to ear.

"Thanks! That was pretty cool wasn't it? I was a little nervous his Raichu was gonna beat Charmeleon, but Charmeleon's really strong. And Oddish evolved! I'm so happy!" Leaf exclaimed excitedly. Red smiled at her. Today she got to bask in the glory of victory, but tomorrow it would be his turn.

**So, unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably been playing Pokemon Go. I'm not going to lie, I spent a lot of time playing that game when I maybe should have been writing this, but it was totally worth it. That game is amazing and I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I have been. We finally made it to the third gym and I promise it'll only get better from here. Please leave a review with any thoughts, criticism, or ideas you have for me. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Red threw his pokeball into the air and caught it absently while he listened to Lt. Surge boast about his own pokemon and how he was going to pummel Red. Leaf was watching from the stands, calling out words of encouragement for Red. Finally, Lt. Surge finished bragging and stood across from Red, looking very pleased with himself. Red cocked his head to the side.

"Done?" He asked casually. Lt. Surge's face reddened and he threw out his first pokemon. Unlike the pokemon that Leaf had battled, this one hovered in the air. It was a silver pokemon with a round body, one large eye and two screws jutting out from its body just under its eye. Two horseshoe shaped magnets were attached on each end of its body. Red recognized the steel-electric type as magnemite. He had assumed that Lt. Surge would use the same pokemon that he had against Leaf, but this wasn't too big of a deal.

He'd planned on using Ivysaur or Nidorino, but the steel type would prove to be hazardous against the grass-poison type. Nidorino would most liekly be able to deal wit the pokemon, but Red decided Vulpix deserved a chance to fight as well. He caught his pokeball and shrunk it before reaching for a different pokeball. Red tossed out Vulpix's pokeball and caught it as it bounced back. Vulpix looked a little nervous to be battling, but she was also determined to do well for Red. The referee announced the beginning of the battle with a wave of his flag.

Lt. Surge wasted no time and yelled out, "Magnemite, use thundershock!" Electricity shot at Vulpix, but the fire type pokemon dodged the attack elegantly and fired off its own ember attack. The attack struck, sending Magnemite reeling. Magnemite looked like it had taken a considerable amount of damage from the attack, but it wasn't ready to go out just yet.

"Use magnet bomb!" Lt. Surge instructed. Magnemite's body began to spark with light blue electricity as a ball of energy formed in front of it. Vulpix tensed, ready to dodge the attack, but when it was released, the ball of energy followed Vulpix as she jumped away. Vulpix cried out in surprise as the attack exploded upon contact.

"Use Confusion Ray!" Red instructed as Vulpix struggled back to her feet. Vulpix's eyes glowed red as an orb formed over her open mouth. She fired the orb, Magnemite's eyes glowing red as the orb melted into its body. Magnemite began to wobble in mid-air and turn around in confusion.

"Snap out of it!" Lt. Surge commanded, but his pokemon didn't seemed to understand. Red saw him reaching for his pokeball, but it was too late. Vulpix had already prepared for her next attack. A swirling vortex of flames emerged from her mouth, surrounding Magnemite in a fiery tornado and preventing Lt. Surge from returning his pokemon.

"Good work," Red complimented his pokemon.

"Use thundershock Magnemite!" Lt. Surge yelled out angrily.

Random bolts of electricity began to shoot from the fire spin attack, striking the ground and walls. This continued for a little bit, but eventually stopped just before a thump cut through the crackle of flames. Vulpix cut the attack, waiting for the flames to clear. Magnemite lay unconscious on the floor, electricity weakly sparking off it. Vulpix cried out happily as Lt. Surge was forced to return his pokemon.

Red actually smiled as he watched him enlarge his next pokeball. Vulpix was in pretty good shape and regardless of which pokemon he used next, his chances of winning were pretty high. To no one's surprise, Raichu emerged from the pokeball. That pokemon was a powerhouse, but it wouldn't be too much of a problem for Red. After all, Leaf had just beaten it with brute force, and Red could come up with a strategy to defeat it if he really needed to.

"Confusion ray," Red instructed.

"Thunderbolt!" Lt. Surge fired back. Vulpix began to attack, but was forced to dodge the thunderbolt instead. Raichu fired another bolt, which Vulpix also managed to jump out of the way, though only barely. Red could tell that his pokemon was starting to feel the effects of battling and was slowing down.

"Will-O-Wisp!"

"Thunderbolt one last time!"

Vulpix raised her head, forming a light blue ball of fire over her open mouth. She turned towards Raichu and launched the attack just before Raichu's own attack struck. Vulpix slumped to the ground unconscious, but its efforts were rewarded as Raichu's body briefly was engulfed in flames due to burn's effects.

"Good work Vulpix," He praised her softly as she disappeared into the pokeball. He enlarged his next pokeball and released the pokemon inside. Sandshrew appeared, eagerly shifting in anticipation for the battle. Truth be told, this battle couldn't be going better. Since Sandshrew was a ground type, it negated Raichu's most powerful attacks, leaving the pokemon with physical attacks making up much of the rest of its arsenal. With Raichu burned, all of its physical attacks were halved, meaning that it was almost impossible for Raichu to take down Sandshrew before falling to the effects of its own status condition or an attack. Red smirked, but knew better to decide the outcome of a battle before it was fought.

He looked over at Sandshrew who was paying him little attention. Red prayed that all his training and time with Sandshrew wouldn't be for nothing. In their recent training sessions, Sandshrew had been listening and responding to Red much better. They were in an actual battle now, a gym battle, and Red hoped that didn't encourage Sandshrew to become disobedient

"Use sand-attack," Red instructed, hoping to draw out this battle.

Red sighed in relief as his pokemon obeyed his command, sending a cloud of dust into the air with a swipe of his claws. Then, without a command, Sandshrew charged into the dust cloud. Red cursed under his breath, sending up a silent prayer the pokemon wasn't getting into too much trouble. Hoping to regain some semblance of control over Sandshrew, he called out, "Use dig!"

Red gnawed the inside of his cheek as he waited for something to happen. After a few very long moments, there was a cry from Raichu and a flash of electricity that Red guessed the pokemon had released in shock. The dust cleared, revealing Sandshrew running away from a very angry Raichu. Raichu was faster than Sandshrew though and charged into him. Sandshrew rolled with the momentum, sustaining minimal damage.

"Sandshrew you're going to have to listen to and trust me if we want to win. It may look like we have the advantage, but this Raichu is really strong," Red warned his pokemon. Sandshrew stood completely still for a moment and then nodded once. Red couldn't help but grin.

"Alright, let's finish this off with a roll-out!"

Sandshrew leaped forward, curling in on himself and forming a sphere. He charged towards Raichu, but the pokemon leaped out of the way. Sandshrew spun in a tight circle, gaining speed, and redirected itself towards Raichu. The sudden burst of speed caught Raichu off guard, and Sandshrew barreled into it. Raichu managed to hold its ground though, and wrapped its arms around Sandshrew to stop it. Swinging itself in a large circle, Raichu hurled Sandshrew through the arm. Sandshrew flailed helplessly in the air a moment before crashing into the ground.

Sandshrew glared up at Raichu, humiliated more than anything else. Raichu returned the glare with a toothy grin of its own before being engulfed in a sudden burst of flames. As soon as they'd come, they were gone, leaving Raichu hunched over and exhausted.

"Sand-attack, then fury swipes!" Red commanded.

Sandshrew flung up a cloud of dust and charged towards Raichu. It slashed at the weak pokemon again and again until it collapsed. When the dust cleared, Sandshrew was standing proudly over the fainted pokemon's body. Red allowed himself a satisfied smirk as Lt. Surge silently and bitterly returned his pokemon. Sandshrew looked pretty smug himself as Red gave him an approving nod before returning him.

"Woo-hoo! Nice job Red!" Leaf hollered as she flew down the steps. Psyduck struggled down the stairs behind her, desperately trying to keep up with her pace. She ran over to him, seemingly more excited about his victory than he was. Lt. Surge watched them with slight amusement, but also with sadness. He sighed as he handed Red his gym badge and then threw on a big smile.

"Congratulations, you baby! Here's ya very own Thunder Badge," he announced. Red inspected the badge in his hand with admiration. He nodded his own thanks and was about to turn away when he heard Leaf say something.

"Don't get too beat up by losing to us. I lose all the time, so if you don't usually lose, sometimes it's good to remember how it feels. It inspires you to just train that much harder!" Leaf encouraged Lt. Surge while fist pumping the air. Red and Lt. Surge both stared blankly at Leaf for a moment, then Lt. Surge broke out in a big grin.

"Alright kid, I'll take your word for it. Just don't go losing anymore battles, It'll make me look worse." He messed up her hair again, but Leaf smiled this time. They waved as they exited, Leaf calling out that she would come see him again when she was champion.

"You say the weirdest things," Red stated, shaking his glanced at him and shrugged her shoulders in acceptances. Compared to Red, some of the things she said were bound to be weird.

"Let's head back to the pokemon center and then make our way towards Saffron City. We've been here a long time, and I'm ready to get on the road and catch new pokemon!" Leaf suggested happily.

"Okay, but let's stop at the pokemart too," Red agreed. The two gathered their belongings from the pokemon center, thanked Nurse Joy, and healed their pokemon before heading of towards the pokemart. They stashed up on the essentials, such as pokeballs, potions, and status healers. Leaf was delighted to find the store even sold great balls now. After their short trip, they headed towards Route 6. They figured Saffron was one of the closest cities and from there they could head to Cerulean City.

"It's so peaceful out here," Leaf sighed contently. The sun warmed their skin and a slight breeze cooled it off. Big, white, cotton candy clouds lazily floated through the air. Leaf watched delightedly as occasional pokemon would scamper across their path or peek their heads out to watch them. The path was easy to follow and pretty open now, but the trees were starting to grow thicker around them. While Leaf would undoubtedly miss the comfort and safety the pokemon center offered them, it was good to get back on their feet and out into the world.

"Maybe we should have a stayed a little longer," Red mused, staring up at the sky with a furrowed brow.

"Huh? Why?" Leaf briefly panicked as they had already been walking for hours.

"A big storm is coming," he stated in response. Pikachu nodded in agreement, his nose twitching slightly. Leaf's mouth hung open as she looked from the sky to her friend and backup to the sky.

"What?! It's beautiful out!" She protested in frustration. Red was always getting like this, mysteriously acting like he knew the workings of the world. He did it so casually too. It was infuriating. Red just shrugged and gave her a look that said they'd see who's right soon enough. Leaf sighed and began searching the route for any signs of pokemon she might want to catch. Most of the pokemon they'd seen were fairly common ones, but Leaf had a strong hope that maybe she'd find a rare one.

"I wonder what he's doing," Red pondered, gesturing towards the trainer drawing in the ground with the butt of his butterfree net. The path had long since lead them into the forest, so it wasn't surprising to see a bug catcher out and about. There was something different about this one though, something that just wasn't quite right. That type of trainer tended to be energetic, always willing to jump on the first person they spotted in order to show off their impressive collection of bug pokemon.

This guy was different.

"Hey!" Leaf called out cheerfully, oblivious to the thoughts churning through Red's brain. The trainer looked up in surprise at them and immediately stood straight up at attention. Then, as though he realized his actions looked out of place and awkward, he attempted to lean casually on his net. The trainer offered them an apologetic smile even before he explained what was wrong.

"Sorry, but this section of the forest is close. 'Fraid there's a nasty swarm of scyther and I don't think anyone but an expert should approach them. They'll be gone soon enough, but for now, just stick to the path and stay out of this area," The bug catcher informed them.

Leaf frowned, and before she could protest that she wanted nothing more than to catch a scyther, Red silenced her with a look. Her teeth dug into her lip as she struggled not to snap back at Red in front of the stranger. Red gave him a small smile and a nod.

"Thanks for the warning." He pulled Leaf away from the trainer and didn't turn around to face her until they were out of sight. His friendly facade was over and a storm of suspicion and distrust brewed in his dark eyes. He glanced behind her and then indicated that she should follow him silently. Leaf, sensing the weight of the situation, tried to ignore the knots forming in her stomach as she followed Red into a densely forested area.

"Scyther don't live in this area, nor do they travel in swarms," he stated simply, leaving the rest for her to figure out herself.

"You think this has something to do with Team Rocket?" She asked nervously.

"It's possible. We need to see what he's hiding." Red led her away from him before circling back towards his direction. They made sure to stay a safe enough distance away so that he wouldn't hear him but close enough they wouldn't get lost. Every twig snapping and leaf crunching under her foot made Leaf feel as though the fake bug catcher might pounce up from behind a tree or bush. Red seemed oblivious or unconcerned with Leaf's fears and continued through the forest cautiously. He finally held out a hand for her to stop and nodded towards the area in front of him.

Leaf peeked around a tree, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight in front of them.

From what they could see, a large camp containing tents of all sizes was spread across a clearing. What caught Leaf's attention though wasn't the flashy jeeps waiting on the edge, or the weapons casually thrown over shoulders and stashed in the back seats, but the rows of gleaming metal cages. Warily eyeing the men strolling around camp from behind metal bars were pokemon.

Leaf's stomach clenched as anger washed over her. Red placed a hand on his shoulder and gave her a small shake of his head, telling her not to give into her impulses. Every part of her being wanted to rush the cages and set the pokemon free, but that would probably be the stupidest thing she could possibly do.

"What is this?" she demanded coolly.

"My guess is poaching," He replied, pulling her away from the dangers the camp held. While it was still possible this could have some connection to Team Rocket, Red highly doubted it. Every rocket grunt he had encountered so far had proudly embraced their team with some sort of clothing item. There wasn't a single red R anywhere to be seen in this camp. Odds were they were just some common thugs trying to earn some cash at the expense of pokemon.

"What are we going to do?" Leaf pressed, her hands balled into fists.

"Nothing right now." Red glanced behind Leaf to make sure no one had seen them as he backed away. Leaf stopped abruptly, rooting her feet in place as a look of disbelief and disgust etched itself into her face.

"We're just going to leave them there?!" Her face flushed red with anger. Red shook his head patiently, waiting for Leaf to calm down before explaining further. He plucked a pokeball from his belt and released Pidgeotto calmly.

"It'd be suicidal to just run in there without any sort of plan, so let's gather some information about the layout of this place and what is really going on here. Once we figure that out, then we can do something," he explained, waving Pidgeotto away to do as he suggested.

Leaf nodded in acceptance, though the thought of sitting here while so many pokemon were imprisoned made her sick. Imagining herself infiltrating such a place didn't make her feel any better though. She glanced in the direction of the camp, watching as Pidgeotto hovered in the air above. Red had begun to walk even further away from the camp, leaving her no choice but to follow.

"Maybe it would be better if we just told the police," Leaf suggested. Red stayed silent, complementing her words before forming a response.

"No," He answered simply, prompting Leaf's automatic response.

"Why not?" Leaf asked, annoyed that he hadn't given his reasoning.

"Team Rocket. Also, the poachers may be long gone by the time that we actually make contact with the police. While it may be riskier for us try and rescue them ourselves, I think it's the best option," Red explained.

Red held out his arm, and moments later Pidgeotto latched onto it. Leaf briefly wondered how Red was going to get information from his pokemon, but she figured if anyone had a way, it was him.

"So this is a sure thing?" She asked as he talked softly to his pokemon. Red nodded, not taking his eyes of Pidgeotto. Pikachu had jumped from Red's shoulder and was also engaging in conversation with them. Leaf sighed, running a hand through her windblown hair. This was crazy, yet leaving all those pokemon there was even crazier. There were so many things that could go wrong with this. Even though all of the weapons she had seen so far were non-lethals, there was no telling if they actually packed some real guns. Guns were highly illegal, even for police officers, and strictly reserved for military use only. Since there hadn't been a war for quite some time, firearms were pretty rare. Considering that everyone carried around monsters in their pockets, there really wasn't much use for them anyways.

What scared her most was that these people were nothing compared to Team Rocket. Yet she was almost more willing to risk everything she had, even her life, just to continue traveling with Red than she was to raid a camp and unlock some cages. It just proved that even though Red had his annoying little quirks, he meant the world to her. Leaf shook her head at herself. She

really was just a fool whose heart outweighed her commonsense.

"I think I've got a good idea of the layout of this place. Also, most of the pokemon are from this area, so they won't have any problem adjusting to life around here. Once we reach the next town, we'll just have to report seeing a few unusual pokemon around here."

"So how are we going to do this?" Leaf asked uneasily, suddenly not so eager to rush in there.

Red's lips curled back as he gave her a wicked smile, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

"Oh I've got a few ideas."

**Thanks to user 56006, who gave me the idea to in cooperate pokemon poachers in the story. I'm pretty excited where this story is going to go. I'm not super pleased with this chapter, but I just needed to get it out there. Thanks for reading and please make sure to leave a review about what you thought and what you think I can do to improve it. Thanks so much!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Leaf anxiously picked at the fabric on the end of the sleeve of her black coat, finding that it offered little protection against the chill settling in her bones. One of her hands held the charmander mask while the other was nervously shifting between picking apart her jacket and methodically patting a pocket to ensure her of its contents. Red had left only minutes ago, but it seemed like hours. Leaf stood alone now, and she struggled to keep her mind from focusing on the darkness that seemed to close in on her. Leaf knew it was such a petty thing to fear the dark, but she felt it all the same. Or maybe what she was really afraid of was the fate of her traveling companion.

Their plan, while it still wasn't perfect, was pretty well put together for the time allotted. Leaf had to admit that Red's plan was rather clever. There were two guards stationed at opposite ends of the camp, and the odds of someone else prowling around this camp so late at night were pretty low. Since it was out of the question to kill the guards, they had to find some other way to subdue them. Simply sneaking up and trying to knock them out or just sneaking around them had too much risk involved. That's when Red had the idea to use sleep powder. Ivysaur's sleep powder combined with a light gust from pidgeotto would not only allow them to quietly deal with the guards but also reduce the threat that Red would be spotted. They could simply use the combination of moves from a distance away and wait for it to take the desired effect. The guards wouldn't be able to see the powder in the darkness, and if they happened to wake up, they would just assume they had fallen asleep on duty.

Unfortunately, Red had insisted that he take care of both guards alone, leaving Leaf anxiously awaiting his signal. Once the guards had been dealt with, Red would send pidgeotto back to Leaf. Having already scouted the camp, Red knew exactly who had the keys to the cages and where they were sleeping. Leaf had, of course, fought with Red about this, but he wouldn't budge. He even threatened to turn them around and leave the pokemon behind, using force if he had to. She really didn't believe that he could or would force her to do anything, but Leaf relented.

The knowledge that his pokemon would be able to defend him from any harm was Leaf's only solace as she waited. She lifted the charmander mask that, at the time, had seemed an impulsive and childish buy. Now they were actually using them. Not wanting any other criminal organizations hunting them down, they both agreed keeping their faces hidden was a good idea. Just as she was congratulating herself on the insightful purchase, pidgeotto swooped down from the sky. Luckily, it was a pretty common pokemon, so even if someone happened to spot the bird hovering, they wouldn't think much of it.

Excitement bubbled inside Leaf as she fashioned the mask around her face and followed the bird pokemon towards the camp. Pidgeotto's keen eyes led them right to the cages of pokemon and to Red. He hovered next to them, veiled in the shadows they cast. When he saw Leaf, he stood up from his crouched position and approached her. He wore his own bulbasaur mask, making it impossible for Leaf to read his thoughts. Once pidgeotto had reunited the two, he took off again to keep watch from the sky. Red held out the keys, but before Leaf could take them, he pulled them back. Leaf didn't need to see his face to know what he was thinking this time, though. She patted her pocket to assure him that she had sleep powder of her own in case of an emergency and took the keys from his hand.

Red gave her a nod before walking a short distance away to keep watch. Leaf tried to keep her hands from shaking so much and her heart from hammering in her chest as she approached the first cage. A small bipedal blue pokemon watched her with wary eyes, making itself as small as possible in the corner of the cage. It had black markings around its face that made it appear as though it were wearing a mask. Leaf quietly unlocked the cage and opened the door wide, but the pokemon still didn't come out. Leaf, realizing that she might seem scary in her mask, removed it and offered it a warm smile along with an extended hand.

The pokemon hesitated, and then slowly approached her. She smiled soothingly at it and spoke soft words as she tried to coax it out. Finally, the pokemon left the cage, but instead of running off, it firmly attached itself to Leaf's leg. Leaf couldn't help but smile and reached down to gently pet its head. She put her mask back on before moving to the next pokemon. With the exception of the pokemon desperately clinging to her, most of the caged pokemon were from around this area, which meant they could easily adapt to the environment and survive.

A pair of meowth excitedly waited as she unlocked their cage and were practically out before she opened the door. Watching them scamper off towards the forest and their freedom brought a smile to Leaf's masked face. She continued down the row of pokemon, getting lost in their excitement and temporarily forgetting the real danger she was in. The blue pokemon was still nervously holding her leg as she moved onto the last cage. The pokemon inside was bright green with wicked looking scythes for hands. Leaf recognized the pokemon almost immediately as scyther. Its eyes were narrowed into slits, and the way its chest rose and fell in heavy breathes reminded her of a Tauros about to charge. Summoning up all of her courage, she unlocked the door and held it open. For a moment she thought the pokemon might attack her, but instead it charged past her and right into the middle of camp. Leaf's jaw dropped as they pokemon madly began to tear through a tent, fabric flying around it.

"Shit!" Leaf cursed, not knowing what else to do.

Luckily, Red reacted. He rushed past her towards the rampaging pokemon. Pikachu was running ahead of him, electricity dancing across his cheeks. Red turned back towards Leaf, his face still hidden behind the bulbasaur mask and making him look slightly ridiculous but also like some kind of crazy maniac. Red's voice carried an urgent tone as he hissed, "Get out of here!"

"No way I'm leaving you!" Leaf growled back, running to his side. Red stopped suddenly and grabbed Leaf's wrist. She tried to pull it free, but his grip was iron, firm and unyielding. He shook his head, and even from behind his mask Leaf could feel the intensity of his gaze. Leaf lifted her chin and this time ripped her wrist from his grasp. She ran towards scyther.

By now people had heard the commotion and rushed out of their tents to discover a rampant scyther wreaking havoc. Many had brought out pokeballs with them or were reaching for weapons. Too caught up in the chaos, it was unlikely they would even notice their pokemon were missing for some time. It was the perfect time to slip away, but…

Leaf hurled her pokeball, revealing charmeleon in a flash of light. Red was at her side in an instant, and she could feel the anger radiating off him.

"I'll take care of scyther, you take care of them." His voice left no room for arguing, not that Leaf would want to. She nodded, watching as Red ran after the pokemon. Now to distract them.

"Who the hell are you?!" One of the men demanded. She turned and looked at him, wondering if she looked as foolish as she felt. A small dog-like pokemon she didn't recognize stood in front of him. From the looks of it, Leaf assumed it was a normal type pokemon. A few others had turned their attention to her, looking very pissed off and each with a pokemon of their own. Leaf simply raised her hand, her finger shaking slightly as she pointed it towards the group. Charmeleon turned towards them and released a torrent of flames.

Their pokemon bravely shielded their trainers from the flames, but it was obvious that they were no match for Leaf's pokemon. They crumpled to the ground, barely conscious from the powerful attack. Leaf found that she was grinning uncontrollably as she watched, a feeling of power rising up inside her. Energy rushed through her body, and her heart thudded loudly in her ears. A thrill raced up her spine, and Leaf had to fight the urge to laugh. She tried to ignore the adrenaline that rushed through her body and gave her crazy thoughts.

Charmeleon rushed forward, slashing his claws through the weakened pokemon. One pokemon attempted to tackle charmeleon, but charmeleon easily dodged it and knocked the pokemon out with a metal claw attack. The trainer's watched in mixed shock and horror as their pokemon were brought to the ground. Charmeleon retreated to a defensive position in front of Leaf. Her excitement began to wane as she saw their eyes harden, and they pulled out new pokeballs. There was no way she could possibly fight off the whole camp, especially not with more people rushing over to help take her out.

She needed to do something and fast. Leaf had lost sight of Red, and getting through the poachers to him was not an option. You need to run, the small logical part of her brain insisted. Like usual, Leaf ignored the voice of reason and proceeded to try and break through the line of pokemon in front of her.

"Flamethrower again!" She commanded. Charmeleon let loose another attack, but they were ready this time. A duo of water type pokemon countered the attack, while most of the rest simply dodged it. Suddenly three pokemon charged Charmeleon. The fire type managed to knock one aside and dodge another before being hit with a double-slap attack. Instead of rushing her pokemon again, an angry ekans leaped at Leaf instead. She barely had time to move before the pokemon snapped its jaw through the air she had been occupying moments earlier. Leaf's fingers were fumbling to grab another pokeball when it lunged again. A quick jab from the small blue pokemon sent the pokemon reeling backward. Leaf stared down in amazement at the pokemon who had saved her and now glared angrily at ekans. She had almost forgotten about it in the rush of madness.

"Thank you." Leaf felt gratitude wash over her.

"Ri, Riolu!" It responded happily. Meanwhile, Charmeleon had successfully knocked out the other two pokemon that had attacked but was now plagued with two more. Leaf could tell her pokemon was growing wearier with every passing moment. Even with her whole team, there was no way she could fight through this. She glanced ruefully in Red's direction. The only thing she could do to help him now was distract as many of them as possible.

"Smokescreen!" She yelled. Charmeleon jumped backward and breathed a cloud of smoke. It covered them completely, resulting in a chorus of coughs and curse words. Leaf's eyes desperately searched for something she could use to distract them when she spotted the jeeps and even some motorcycles. Perfect.

"Flamethrower," She commanded, pointing at the vehicles. Like a harbinger of death, Leaf's command signaled hungry flames to devour anything in their path. Fire greedily ate up the vehicles, crackling and popping excitedly. Leaf wasn't any chemist, but she knew nothing good could come from igniting so many gas tanks in such a close area. She turned and ran.

The explosion shook the ground and sent a wave of unbearable heat rolling over the camp. Leaf stumbled forward, her ears ringing from the noise. There was no way anyone could have possibly slept through that. For a moment, everyone in camp watched in horror filled awe as their vehicles went up in flames. Leaf looked back over her shoulder and smiled proudly at it. As far as distractions went, she couldn't have done much better.

"You little bitch! I'm going to kill you!" One man screamed, angrily running towards her.

Leaf bolted from the camp, her feet flying over the ground as she blindly rushed through the forest. She could hear the rhythm of at least a dozen boots pounding the ground behind her. Charmeleon ran beside her, glancing back at their pursuers nervously every now and then. Riolu had taken the lead, and Leaf appreciated his navigation skills in the darkness. She reached into her pocket, grabbed a handful of sleep powder, and threw it in the air behind her. In the best case scenario, it would put a couple of guards to sleep, and in the worst case scenario, it would cause them to hesitate and give her a few more precious seconds.

Leaf prayed that she had helped Red in some way and that he was okay. The darkness pressing in all around her had caused her to completely lose track of where she was going, so there was no way she could go back to help him. All she could do now was get rid of these poachers and keep herself safe. Leaf didn't have the time to check whether her plan had worked and instead continued to run deeper into the forest.

The sound of her pursuers was still audible over the pounding of her heart and ragged breathes, but it seemed farther away now. Leaf had no idea how long she had been running, but it felt like an eternity. How hadn't she lost them already? She risked a glance over her shoulder, and that was when her idiocy struck her right in the face. They didn't even need to stay near her when charmeleon's flame was a beacon guiding them straight to her. She knew she needed to return her fire type pokemon, but as her arm closed around her pokeball, she hesitated. Returning charmeleon meant being left in utter darkness. The thought sent a shiver down Leaf's back, yet there was no way around.

Leaf pressed the button in the center of the ball as she struggled to keep it pointed at charmeleon while she ran. He glanced at her in confusion before disappearing in a flash of red light, and then there was darkness. Fear crept into her mind, threatening to drown her. If it weren't for Riolu's guidance, Leaf had no doubt that the men would have caught up to her by now. The thought of what they might do to her if they managed to catch her sent another wave of fear crashing over her.

Calm down, Leaf thought, trying to focus on where she was putting her feet rather than who was following her. Suddenly, Riolu reached out and pulled her behind a tree. Leaf caught on almost immediately and went completely still. She clamped both hands over her mouth in an effort to control her breathing and almost suffocated herself in the process. While she could mute her breathing, there was no way they wouldn't be able to hear her heart madly drumming against the inside of her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that they were too dumb or deaf to find them. Only when she was positive they were gone did she allow herself to breathe again. She took in long gulping breaths, practically choking on the fresh air. Leaf found that tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes, but this was no time to cry. Once she managed to get herself back under control, she turned away from where the men had run to and began to jog.

Riolu took the lead once more, his feet impossibly quiet on the forest floor. Leaf tried to copy the silence but found it was much more difficult than it seemed. She instead tried to focus on where she was going and how to figure out exactly where they were. The darkness seemed to morph one tree into the next, though, and the impossibility of it settled heavily on Leaf's chest. She was truly lost, but at least she wasn't dead. A series of barks cried out from behind her. Leaf listened, realizing that simply running away wasn't going to cut it. Now they were tracking her.

The low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, and, almost as if it were a signal, rain began to fall from the sky. Leaf let out a sigh of relief, thanking the universe for taking mercy on her. It would be almost impossible for them to find her with the rain washing away her scent.

The rain began to fall harder, assaulting Leaf and Riolu relentlessly. Riolu didn't seem too troubled by the rain and running, but Leaf was struggling to keep up with the pokemon. The exhaustion lack of sleep and running had caused was starting to catch up with her. Combined with being soaked, Leaf found that she didn't know how much longer she could do this. At least the barking had stopped. She almost stopped once more, but Riolu's insistent cries kept her going.

"Thanks, Riolu, you really saved me back there," Leaf huffed out between labored breaths. When Riolu didn't respond, Leaf continued, "You must be really scared being so far away from home, but instead of running away, you decided to stay and help me. That was really brave."

Riolu glanced back at her, but his expression was unreadable. He slowed down so that they were running side by side now. Leaf desperately wanted to just stop and lay down, but the fear of being found kept her going. There was no telling how far they would search to find her.

She began to talk about nothing, in particular, to help her stay focused and awake. Riolu didn't react to anything she was saying, but she could tell that he was listening. Leaf began to recount their whole journey to the pokemon, not bothering to leave out the details of team rocket. It felt good to talk about it with someone else, even if they couldn't respond. Lost in thought, Leaf temporarily forgot about the ache in her legs and the people chasing them.

Lightning cut through the sky, illuminating everything beneath it. Leaf stared up at it, transfixed. Her foot caught on something on the ground, and before she knew it, Leaf was on the ground. She weakly pushed herself up, mud staining her clothes and skin. Riolu was at her side in an instant, pulling her arm up. She looked up slowly through the soaked hair surrounding her face. Her hand found a tree close by, and she pulled herself over to it. She leaned her back against the trunk, taking a well-deserved break. Riolu glanced around nervously as he insistently pulled on her arm. Leaf didn't have the strength to push him away.

"Just give me a sec Riolu," She murmured. The pokemon didn't look pleased but stopped pulling on her arm. Leaf let out a small sigh of relief, relishing in the break. Everything felt so heavy that Leaf wasn't sure if she could move even if she wanted to. Figuring it couldn't hurt, Leaf rested her eyes for a moment as well. Riolu started to protest, but Leaf could barely hear it. The world faded away as exhaustion consumed her.


End file.
